The Storm I Never Faced

During the two tours that Mike was stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, we lived through seven hurricanes and several more would be hurricanes that ended up being tropical storms by the time they made it to shore. 

I've moved my outdoor stuff inside, I've stocked up on non-perishable foods, and I've even gone to the extreme of filling up my bathtub with water. When I was pregnant with our eldest child, we went through two relative strong hurricanes. We had received a lot of rain that summer leaving the ground soggy, and so I watched as trees swayed in the wind until they finally fell onto the roof next door. And, I can remember the sound of walnuts being launched at our siding from the downed tree. Not to mention how scary it was to sit through one that passed over us in the dead of night and all you could do was stare into the blackness outside and listen to the wind howl while branches and trees cracked and fell, with no earthly idea what the outside world would look like when you woke up the next day. 

When hurricane Floyd came through in 1999, our family had vacation plans, and so, with a storm warning in our ears, we packed up our car a day early and headed to Tennessee, able to find a room in Gatlinburg the day before our cabin would be ready. Upon returning to North Carolina a week later, our exit would be the last one available on I-40, since Floyd had dropped enough rain to flood the road and make it impossible to go any further down the interstate. 

No matter the storms, even when we lost power, we knew that stores had generators, that our car had gas, that our bank accounts had money, and we were safe in our sturdy home. Had that not been the case, we would have loaded said vehicle and hit the road, stopping to eat when we were hungry and grabbing a cheap hotel room or a few hours on the road till we could make it to family. Even if our house had been destroyed, we would have been okay.

During all those hurricane seasons, I never...

worried that the very walls of my house would be ripped off or that all my belongings would blow away...

I never huddled in a corner of that tiny shack holding my children tight as my home crumbled around me....

I never worried that the only goat my family owned would die in the storm, therefore taking away one of our only sources of food, or that the crops I relied on to put food on my table would be destroyed...

I never worried that my only source of work would be so affected that I wouldn't be able to make the few dollars that I had been before the storm and then what would we do to survive...

I never worried that my water would be so contaminated afterwards that it would make us sick, but we might have to drink it anyways because that would be all we had...

I never worried that one of us wouldn't make it, nor did I have to experience the heartbreaking grief of it actually happening...

But I do know people who are living that very reality right this moment.

Hurricane Matthew passed over the country of Haiti earlier this week. Having been to Haiti several times over the past three years, I have friends that live there. I've shared the gospel with men and women, I've held babies in orphanages, and I've shared a church pew on a hot Sunday morning with these beautiful people. I've seen just how strong and resilient they are, how resourceful they can be, and how welcoming they can be with a hug and a smile for an American girl who doesn't know a bit of Creole.

So when the reports came in about how Matthew would pass over this country I love, I prayed. I prayed in the middle of the night when I was unable to sleep, I prayed throughout the day and into the evening. And while I can rejoice in saying that my friends made it through safe and sound, there are so many who did not. There are towns that experienced destruction of buildings, loss of crops, death of friends and family, and are now stuck in a place that isn't accessible by outside help.

Photo courtesy of yahoo.com

"For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink....I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me..." Matthew 25:35-36

The people of Haiti, right this second are the hungry, the thirsty, the ones needing our help. The question is, will we remember...

"And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me." Matthew 25:40

Now, I don't know how you will choose to reach out to the hurting,  by I will share this: Baptist Haiti Mission and Baptist Global Response are both groups that I trust to donate to. I know people who work with both of these groups personally, including a missionary family currently stationed in Haiti, and I know that they will use what's given to take care of what needs to be done. If you are worried that maybe your dollars won't get into the hands of those in such desperate need, maybe you would consider donating to the Mission by clicking here: Baptist Haiti Mission which will take you to their Facebook page that has a donation button, or donate to the Global Response by clicking here: Baptist Global Response. 

Of course, I would ask that you pray for those affected, but at a time like this, I just think we are called to do more. My pastor just this last week preached about a life lived for Christ is filled with extravagant giving. The kind that pushes aside my selfish wants and gives to others instead. Now's our chance to do that very thing.