This morning Sean and I went to chapel at the kids school.
Every Wednesday they have chapel and then split up by class and gender for
discipleship after chapel. Sean leads 9th grade boys and I help lead 7th
grade girls. Today the speaker in chapel talked about the bible story where
Jesus and his disciples were on a boat and a big storm came up. While the
disciples were freaking out Jesus was sleeping. They woke him up in a panic.
Jesus calmed the storm and said “Why are you so afraid, where is your faith?”
The speakers message was about how we go
through storms in our life, and sometimes it might feel like God is sleeping
but His promise is to never leave us and we have to trust Him.
After chapel and discipleship class my friend Jenn and I
decided to go have lunch. While we were sitting in the restaurant eating we
noticed that we were having an earthquake. Now this happens often in Guatemala,
we have felt 4 in the short time we have been here. We looked around the restaurant
and noticed other people looking around too. The earth quake kept going and
started to get progressively worse. As we looked around, we started to notice fear on
everyone’s faces. As it continued to get worse and we heard dishes
breaking on the floor, a panic filled the room. People started diving under tables and
running out of the restaurant. My friend grabbed my hand and we ran out as fast
as we could while the ground was still shaking.
I wish that I could tell you I felt complete peace and
completely trusted God in this moment. But that is not true. As soon as the
earth quake finished, I was so scared. I was scared to go back in the restaurant,
I was shaking terribly and couldn’t even eat my lunch. I sat in the chair
worrying about whether or not it would happen again, and what if it was worse
this time? Was my family ok? Were they scared?
Just 1 hour before this 7.5 earthquake, we had just heard a message,
that when everything was ok, made me feel safe and strong, like I could conquer
the world with Jesus by my side. Why is it that when we are in the storm, it is
so easy to lose sight of that?
Today everyone woke up after another presidential election.
Some people are very happy with the results and others are feeling discouraged
and maybe even fearful. For some people, this could feel like a storm. If we
can stay focused on the big picture and remember that we serve a God that is a
rock for us and will never leave or forsake us, that should bring us peace and comfort.
Tonight I pray that when I am in the storm, I will stand
strong and trust His word. I pray that all the people affected by this
particular storm and all the storms in the world right now, will find peace in
Him.
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