In the Palm of His Hand

After last year, I was pretty shaken.  Weather events had been striking our little area for a few months, and they just weren't getting better.  It started off with winter heading straight in to summer, seeming to forget about spring altogether.

We had roads washing out.  We had creeks overflowing.  A city close to us lost their beloved fire chief to the rushing water.

Then the fires.  Oh be still my heart, the fires.  We didn't have any rain to accumulate, and so the forest floors were beyond dry.  And in came the thunder and lightning.  I have always loved a good thunderstorm.  When I was little, I would go outside and watch the storm build.  Then the lightning could no longer be held in and was unleashed over the lake.  And I'd sit there, counting the seconds until I heard the thunder. 

It kind of felt like the clouds just needed to let everything out so that they could start new.

I LOVED thunderstorms.  For 5 years in a row, when I was 12-17 years old, there was a thunderstorm on my birthday.  They had never caused any devastation in my area, so I had no reason to fear them.

Then the roads washed out.  And the fires struck and grew to unimaginable proportions.

This year is shaping up to be much the same so far.  We went straight from winter (it was still snowing a few weeks ago), straight into summer dryness and temperatures.  We haven't had a good rain since last October.

Roads are washing out.  Creeks and rivers are overflowing.  Peoples lives are being impacted in huge ways.  

And today, they are predicting storms.  I won't lie.  My heart and my head are expecting the worst.  My stress level is rising, imagining a repeat of last year.  My soul hurts to remember the devastation that began 10 short months ago.  I am already trying to prepare for the worst, even though it hasn't happened yet.

And I can feel God whispering, oh so quietly, in my ear, that He has me.  I am safe in the palm of his hand.  That I can see the beauty in the destruction.  I can choose to remember how our entire province, and a neighbouring province pulled together to help us through.  How people who had been affected by the fires in Fort McMurray 2 years ago remembered the pain they went through, and knew what we would need to get through.  How I made friends with some of these men when they answered our prayers.  And how He held all of us in the palm of His hand, both times disaster struck.

I can choose to think that these disasters did devastate, but they built at the same time.  They built our community relationships, they broke down walls.  They forced us to get to know people that we never would have otherwise.  And not just to get to know them, and the others who helped, but to remember what was truly important.  People.  Relationships.  Building memories.  

When I packed up my house last year, preparing to possibly say goodbye to my possessions, I was reminded that the people I share my house with are so much more important than the things I have packed in to it.  That the memory books we've created mean more to all of us, as I wasn't the only one storing away those precious moments.  

I don't know where you are today or what you are struggling with.  I don't know if you are preparing to possibly have your life turned upside down, or things are already all muddled up and confusing.  Maybe you have just climbed out of a pit and don't know which way to head next.  I don't know.  But what I do know is that every struggle has a blessing.  It may be hard to see at the time, but I promise you that it is there.  He is holding you in the palm of his Hand, with plans for your future that you can't even begin to fathom.

Heavenly Father, I thank you for all you have brought in to my life.  I thank you for the family and friends you have given me, and I know that those people are exactly the ones I need right now.  I thank you that I have the chance to prepare for the worst, because not everyone is given that time.  I do not want to take for granted anything that I have been given.  I lift up those who are struggling right now, that you would send them the help that they need.  That they would know that you are there, patiently waiting to show them unshakable love and peace.  In faith I pray.  Amen.

Just a Smile

My Facebook feed was filled with the news this morning.  No, it wasn't a national disaster, or a school shooting or anything like what we've been seeing lately. 

It was the news that our community had lost one of our "less fortunate."  

He was a simple man, with no earthly possessions.  He had no home, no bed, no vehicle.  Just his clothes, a guitar and a smile. 

And yet the news of his passing had blown up my whole feed. 

It all started when the fires forced our evacuation last summer.  This gentleman was bussed to a nearby city, and then he seemed to vanish.  Some people would say they had seen him and talked to him.  But then, even after we all made it home, he never did.  There were search committees organized to go as far as 5 hours away from us.  It was spread on the news.  And we never stopped searching. 

He was finally found, but not in the way we had hoped.

How is it possible that this one man had such an effect on our communities? 

He didn't donate thousands of dollars to those in need.  He was one of those we considered in need.  

I believe it's because, in a way,  he gave us everything he had.  He gave his time to those who wanted a friendly ear.  He had a smile for everyone who passed by.  He gave it all.

Chances are really great that whoever is reading this has no idea who I'm talking about.  But maybe you know something just like this man.  Someone who doesn't have much, and yet continues to share themselves, because that is what they can do.

And maybe we can pay tribute to them by learning from their actions.  We can give of ourselves, even if it's just to smile as everyone who passes by.  Maybe that's all they need today, is to see a friendly face.

I think sometimes we get consumed with the thought that we can't help because we don't have enough.  We are short on funds.  Or we are short on time.  Or maybe we just don't know where to begin.

Maybe, just like this beautiful soul learned, all it takes is just a smile.

I don't know what challenges you are facing today.  I do know to some of you, those challenges are going to seem insurmountable.  I know that this gentleman certainly didn't have it easy, but I do know that he managed to spread joy to those around him in the simplest of ways.  So I challenge you this week to find someone who needs nothing more than your smile, and give it to them.  It can't hurt to try.

Heavenly Father, I thank you today that I was blessed enough to have met this man, and many others like him.  I pray that he is with you now, and that he knows the incredible impact he had.  And I pray that we would be inspired to remember that your love is ever present, and that it doesn't need to be complicated or time consuming for us to show it to others.  Show us those around us that need just a smile, or maybe for someone to lend them an ear.  Open our eyes to those people, and enable us to remember that we are able to be the answer to their prayer, if only we would say yes.  In faith I pray.  Amen.

Love In The Ashes

Fire is scary. And unpredictable. And can consume everything in its path with no rhyme or reason as to where it chooses to go. We witnessed that first hand this summer. 

Life is slowly beginning to go back to normal. Or at least as normal as it can. We still have days that are hazy with smoke. We still have to remind ourselves that those clouds are really just clouds, not another massive fire ready to come over the mountain again. 

Some days, it feels like life is safe again. To be completely honest, this whole ordeal has affected me more than I ever would have imagined. 

I have avoided taking my kids to see the destruction, striving to protect them from the images when things were still so uncertain. I didn't want them to have those pictures in their heads when it still felt like we were living in the thick of it. 

Now that the smoke is almost gone, and the gorgeous colours of fall are appearing, I thought it might be cathartic to give the kids cameras and go hunting for the life rising from the ashes. 

As we drove down the road from our house, we talked about how this summer is a perfect example of how life is sometimes. I told the kids that at some point in their lives, you're going to face hard times. How it's going to feel like you're never going to see the light at the end of the tunnel and how it's going to feel like they're all alone. They're going to wonder if God has abandoned them. 

So this afternoon we went looking for the life that comes after the hard. I challenged the kids to find the most beautiful green thing that they could amongst the ashes.

As we walked through the devastated forest, we were all excited to see the grass in the bushes and the trees returning to green from the roots. The kids explored, touching the bark on the trees and finding the holes left by the burning tree roots.

I told them that this summer we all walked through something really really hard. And the hard in life is going to happen again so I wanted them to have pictures in their minds from today to remember. That what we saw today was going to be their example that His love is even in the ashes. That seeing the green today would remind them that He has a plan. And that if they can trust Him to walk through it with them, at the end they'll see green too.

We talked about how we all came out of this stronger. And more sure of His love. 

After we got home, I looked over all the pictures we had taken that afternoon, and my beautiful, soft-hearted little boy somehow managed to find this.  Love in the ashes.

I don't know what it is that you're facing right now.  I do know that you are not alone.  You are loved.  You are enough.  And if you can find a little hope, you will get through this.

He Gives Power to the Powerless

Our area has been ravaged by natural disaster this summer. Tens of thousands of people are affected by fires. Hundreds have lost homes and outbuildings. 

We have thousands of firefighters sleeping on cots in tents, after working 18 hour days trying to fight these "fire beasts."  We have hundreds of arm personnel coming in for 2 week tours, helping in any way that they can.  We have RCMP volunteering to come into evacuation order zones, spending time away from loved ones so that the homes that do survive the fires aren't ransacked by others.  All of these service people are saying how amazing their experience has been, with the communities supporting them in any way that they can.

People have lost their houses, with all of their possessions inside. Some have built those homes with their very own hands. One family that we know of lost their house in 2010, the last year we had fires. And again this year. Twice they've had to sift through their remaining belongings hoping to save something of meaning. 

Some have lost their livelihood, with countless animals, gardens and fields ravaged by the flames.   Hundreds of thousands of acres of ranch land are destroyed now. 

Some days, it feels like we are walking through a thick fog, just putting one foot in front of the other, searching for normal. 

I have felt few feelings in my life worse than helplessness. We as humans are wired to want to control what is going on around us, and when nature takes over, we lose that sense of control. We lose our sense of safety with all of the unpredictable. 

And do you know what He has done?He has brought people together.  

One of the groups He brought was Samaritans purse, with some amazing volunteers, into our little town (and many others), and gave us the power to help others.  His love is shining brightly through those willing to show up and serve others.  Through the smoke, ashes and tears, people are going to know they are loved, even in their darkest hour.

Until He gave it back. He gave some of my family members back a sense of pride and accomplishment sifting the ashes of houses that were burnt. They were able to return some memories and tokens to those that had lost everything.

My father in law, who himself was evacuated from his house for almost 3 weeks, said he has felt the most beautiful feeling - contributing in a way that would truly make a difference. He said that he felt more in sifting through those ashes, helping out people he has never even met before, than he ever has after a day of work. There is no hopelessness in that. Only power. 

You can drive in any direction from my house and find blackened trees and burnt yards or fields. But through all of that black, you can see life returning.  And all you have to do is look around you to feel grateful for all you still have.

I don't know where you are walking today, but I do know that you are not alone. Even if the path seems barren and hopeless, there will once again be light.  I know we are not the only one facing the ravages of natural disaster.  But you are not alone.  And He will get us through it.  I pray that you can be a light to someone through all of this.  That the love of Christ would shine through all of this so brightly that He could no longer be denied.  That the overflow of water and the reaches of the flames would be no match for the love of His people.  In faith I pray.  Amen.

He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. 

Isaiah 40:29