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Keeping a Christian Perspective…When Life
Goes Haywire
by Stephanie Wood
The second largest disaster in U.S. history (second only to
9/11) hit my hometown last week. We had two
hours of advance notice that Charley had
decided to change course and pay us an up
close and personal visit. We had only enough
time to secure the house as best we could,
find a safe place in the house to use as a
hurricane shelter, and hunker down to wait
out the storm.
On Friday afternoon, August 13th, a Category
Four hurricane whipped through Port
Charlotte/Punta Gorda, Florida, leaving over
eight billion dollars in damages, including
my parent’s home, my condo and car, and the
offices and radio studio of the NextWave
Faithful ministry.
Life has changed dramatically for the residents of
Charlotte County. Our community has spent
the past two weeks cleaning up debris,
gutting wet drywall, carpet, and insulation
from our homes and businesses, working to
repair our roofs to prevent further water
damage, and commuting to neighboring towns
to buy food, water, ice and gasoline. We’re
all wishing that hurricane season was during
balmy October or cool November, instead of
Southwest Florida’s hottest month of the
year. One of my sisters nearly fainted from
heat exhaustion last week, and one of the
volunteers who came to help us clear debris
from our house ended up in the hospital with
heat stroke.
Every day is a new adventure. As of today, we’ve been
without electricity, phone lines, drinkable
water lines, or Internet service (I never
knew how addicted I was to my email!) for
fourteen days. The roof and ceiling over my
condo collapsed on my bedroom, and the glass
window exploded during the storm. It was
hard to suck it up and say goodbye to
pictures, memorabilia, furniture and clothes
that I once thought I couldn’t part with. A
tree fell on my Honda Civic – it’s driveable,
but it definitely needs more than a few
Band-Aids.
If there has ever been a time in my life I could describe
as chaotic, it would be now. There are so
many uncertainties, inconveniences, and
disappointments as we struggle as a
community to get back on our feet. But
through it all, I have to tell you about the
blessing it has been to witness a community
that has undergone such extensive
devastation…and still has hope.
My family and I have witnessed the power of kindness,
brotherly love, and charity that our fellow
Americans have for those in need. Electrical
engineers from all over the United States
have come to Charlotte County to restore
power as quickly as possible to our
community. The engineers working in our
neighborhood are from Tennessee and West
Virginia. They’ve left their homes and their
families for the next several weeks, getting
five or six hours of sleep a night. We’ve
seen corporations, ministries, relief
organizations, and churches of all
denominations come together to help our
community get back on our feet. The spirit
of this community has been transformed.
There are no street lights in our town, and
yet, I’ve never seen better driving in Port
Charlotte. Everyone has a kind word for
another, and wants to help those less
fortunate than themselves. It’s beautiful to
witness true kindness in action. One of our
staff members walked into the office this
morning and told us about the selflessness
of the out-of-state workers who have come to
work on his home. His final comment was, “if
there’s one thing I have to say after
Charley, it’s that I’m proud to be an
American.”
Living through a natural disaster like Hurricane Charley
has made me see everything around me, all
the blessings in my life, in a new light.
This experience has made me realize that I
don’t deserve electricity, air
conditioning, good food and clean water –
I’ve been blessed with these things,
and probably taken them for granted my whole
life. For the first time I really appreciate
these commodities and understand that they
are gifts that God has blessed me with.
For our staff and families, the past two weeks have been a
test of our faith and our perseverance. It
has also been an opportunity for us to put
our faith into action and reach beyond
ourselves and our struggles to see the big
picture of how blessed we are. We have our
lives, our health intact, our families safe,
and our Faith – and these are the things
that really matter.
I’ve thought often of the story of Job in the Bible these
past weeks. Job was a man who feared God,
and lived his life without sin (Job 1:22).
When God tested Job’s faith, He took away
Job’s home, his land, his children, his
wife…everything. And in the midst of
that intense suffering, Job still had the
courage to worship God:
“Then Job arose, and rent his robe, and
shaved his head, and fell upon the ground
and worshiped. And he said, ‘Naked I came
from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I
return; the Lord gave, and the Lord has
taken away; blessed by the name of the
Lord.” – Job 1:20-21
When I got in my car for the first time after the storm,
the song that came on the radio was a song
performed by Tree63 that’s on the Christian
music charts right now; it’s called “Blessed
Be Your Name.” The song is about the prayer
of Job – that no matter what the
circumstances, good or evil, we will choose
to praise the Lord.
I choked up when I heard this song after Hurricane Charley,
because I realized that, with God’s grace, I
could still choose to have a joyful heart
even in this disaster situation. The last
verse of the song says: “You give and take
away/ You give and take away/ My heart will
choose to say/ Lord, Blessed be your name.”
Thus, even though life is throwing me lots
of curve balls right now, I can choose
to praise the name of my Lord and Savior,
Who is the giver of every blessing and good
gift that I have.
As Christians, our perspective in every situation should
be, “Lord, blessed by your name.” There is
no calamity, natural disaster, or personal
sorrow that we will experience in this life
that cannot be conquered by the love and
grace of Jesus Christ. He promised to be
with us through it all. After experiencing
ground zero of Hurricane Charley, I can
testify first hand: His promises are
steadfast and true.
“Behold, I am with you always, even to the
end of the world.”
(Matthew 28:20)
“Blessed Be Your Name”
by Matt and Beth Redman
Blessed be your name
In the land that is plentiful
Where the streams of abundance flow
Blessed be your name
Blessed be your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be your name
Every blessing you pour out,
I’ll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say...
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name
Blessed be your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's all as it should be
Blessed be your name
Blessed be your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be your name
Every blessing you pour out,
I’ll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say...
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name
You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, Blessed be your name
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