As most of the world knows, the entire state of Florida was affected by Hurricane Irma in one way or another on September 11th, 2017.  As Floridians, this wasn’t our first hurricane. Friday, September 1st, was the beginning of the craziness. I work for Publix Supermarkets and know just how crazy it gets, quickly. Each day seemed like Christmas Eve without the love of the holiday. Even though, at this early date, Irma was projected to hit the east coast, the west coast was starting to prepare. No one can predict with 100% accuracy the path of a storm the size of Ohio. It only took a few days for wide-spread panic to set in. Our shelves were barren despite our best attempts to keep product on them. Water, gas, generators, plywood, and propane were in high demand and short supply. There are over 20 million people living in Florida according to a 2016  United States Census Bureau report and millions of them were headed north.

Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” My understanding of hurricanes is limited to what I have learned from local meteorologists and by going through them.  My understanding of spiritual storms is what I have learned from walking through them, trusting God’s understanding of the whole picture, and seeking His will. This entire chapter is written by King Solomon who is considered the wisest man, other than Jesus, to walk the earth. A friend recently told me that when I read the Bible, I believe it to be true. Since I believe it to be true, I believe I can do the same things as the people in the Bible. What a compliment and what a challenge. She said, “Don’t just read the Bible, BE the Bible.”–T.R. With a Category 5 hurricane of catastrophic proportion on the way, I started living out this Proverb.

On Monday, September 4th, I began to pray asking God for His will for my family and me for this particular storm. My husband and I began praying together for His wisdom, will, and peace. By the next day, we had jointly decided we would stay. God wanted us here, needed us here, and was very clear in that message to both of us. Mark and I talked about our plan and continued to pray. I told him that if at any point he wanted me to evacuate with just the kids, I would. I also let him know that I would share my opinion about that. See, I would rather die being obedient to God, than live (or die) running in fear. Job 14:5 says, “A man’s days are numbered. You know the number of his months. He cannot live longer than the time You have set.” If it is my time to go, then a hurricane isn’t going to change that. Whether I am hunkered down in my home, driving north, or holed up in Tennessee; it is my time. There is no hiding from God. Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

By Wednesday supplies were running out. Gas lines were hours long and then there was only premium gas. People were taking dangerous actions to get gas in any container they could find. Police were at many of the gas stations and larger food retailers. Fist fights were breaking out in stores over water and canned goods. Stores had to have employees manning the water to ration to each customer. Generators were being stolen out of the beds of trucks. As many began to evacuate, people were ending up stranded on I-75 with no gas to be found. The media, with a few exceptions, was playing on people’s fears. It was sad to see that some were already looting the homes of those that evacuated. Thankfully, there was so much good going on also. Good that the media didn’t report. Good that people didn’t want credit for. Good that was simply the right thing to do.

In the days following our decision to stay, Mark and I started more preparations. We began having prayer walks around our home; individually and together. We would pray in detail for every aspect of our home; from roof to foundation, from drywall to possessions, and from shingles to souls. We knew we could possibly lose everything we owned, but we never feared for our lives. There was an undeniable, unexplainable peace. We began preparing our children a little at a time. Our 6-year old son could not have cared less. Our 10-year old daughter, who tends to worry and freak out, was as calm as we were. We did not allow them to watch the news. We gave them more and more information with each passing day in ways they would understand. We also read scripture to them. We allowed them to be involved in the preparations. We walked them through the “safe room” allowing them to ask questions about all the plans we had. We had prepared for the worst and prayed for the miraculous.

The final days before the storm hit, my husband was gone. He was out with a group of men from our church putting shutters and plywood up for others that couldn’t do it themselves. He came home after dark soaking wet, and exhausted. Our shutters remained stacked in the garage. I wasn’t worried. Again, there was a surreal peace in our home. I continued to prepare our home and open it up to anyone seeking shelter. Our home is rated to take a hit from a Category 4 and winds over 145 mph.  I can’t even remember when our shutters went up. My son and I had begun the prep to get them up. I have bruises up and down my legs from carrying metal shutters around our home. It made it so much easier for Mark when he got home. I wasn’t worried about the shutters and Mark wasn’t worried about the inside of our home. We trusted each other. We trusted that God was directing the path and plans of each of us. We trusted God as the strongest part of our marriage and family. John 14:27 says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  In a tiny window above our front door is the word PEACE. After putting the shutter over this window, my husband felt God prompting him to take the shutter down. So, he did. Mark said that people needed to see PEACE was in this home.

This isn’t the first storm Mark and I have been through. Before we even met, we had each been through enough personal storms to kill a person. We learned from those storms, changed our path, and were stronger for the next storms. We suffered through more storms, saw the light, and then married each other. We have faced storms in our marriage that have tested our faith to the core. We have walked through them together. Sure, sometimes he was dragging me or I was dragging him, but we were walking, crawling, and crying through them together. We have allowed our children to see those storms. How else are they going to know how to walk through a storm whether it be physical, mental, spiritual, or nature at its most difficult? We have to set the example in all things. Late June of this year our AC unit was struck by lightning. We went without AC for 9 1/2 long, hot, muggy days and nights. I can not even begin to describe our home during this time. Window units, borrowed from friends, blaring out their loud humming sound. Make shift curtains sectioning off parts of the home that we didn’t need. Fans whirling away.  Patience levels waning as the temperatures outside continued to rise. Florida summers are not for sissies. We weathered that storm together and while I don’t wish to repeat it; we learned from it.

There were other storms brewing; storms you don’t see. There were spiritual storms brewing for many. Would they flee out of wisdom, obedience, or fear? There were many facing financial storms and unable to prepare as much as they wanted. There were storms brewing from our family and friends out-of-state. Maybe some evacuated even though God told them to stay. They will have to deal with those decisions. I can’t imagine how Jonah felt when he was alone, far from where God told him to be, and then being rebuked by God. In Exodus 14:11-12 we find the Israelites asking Moses why he had “evacuated” them from Egypt,  ^“They also complained to Moses, “Wasn’t there enough room in Egypt to bury us? Is that why you brought us out here to die in the desert? Why did you bring us out of Egypt anyway? ¹² While we were there, didn’t we tell you to leave us alone? We had rather be slaves in Egypt than die in this desert!” Moses was probably one of few trusting God as he stood at the edge of the Red Sea. 1 Samuel 17:45  “David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty…”  Do we run towards giants, or do we run from them? Each person had to choose that for themselves and there are lessons for all of us. Some will be more painful to learn.

For me, the hardest storm to go through during Irma, was the voice of others. The voice of fear in others. I had family members begging us to leave, offering us money to leave, and questioning our decisions. As hard as I tried to reassure them, their fear grew to the point that I stopped reading their messages and texts. I un-followed people on Facebook who were spewing fear instead of faith. I felt hurt that they would question my faith and my obedience to what God told me to do. Our children were never afraid before, during, or after the storm; except once. Our daughter had been talking to some friends out-of-state and they told her how afraid they were for her. Then and only then was she afraid. We quickly put that fear to rest with our love, scripture, and reassurance. Our children were so distracted by a young man who weathered the storm at our home, that they didn’t know the worst had already passed over us. The Bible doesn’t clearly state it, but I would bet that Noah was questioned for building the Ark. I’m sure many thought his God a fool. Regardless of what others said, Noah was obedient to God.

Here is something I learned over the last two weeks. When I am going through a spiritual “storm” or battle, I read my Bible more, I pray more, and I earnestly seek the face of God more. That is how I prepare to do spiritual battle. That kind of preparation should be a daily discipline. I go through the storm often times at peace, sometimes kicking and dragging, and too often missing the blessings in the storm. Sometimes I am so focused on the storm, I forget to see God standing right beside me holding my hand like a Daddy does for His children. Sometimes I don’t even see the people who are helping me through the storm. When I come out on the other side, there is still work to be done. After Irma passed, shutters had to come down, rooms put back together, generators to pass along, and so many people to help. After a spiritual storm there is also work to do. It is a time to be still and hear from God, learn from God, and relinquish my will. Irma moving north was not the end of the storm; it may simply be the beginning of another, more important storm. I had my own spiritual storm causing waves in my peace as I questioned why some people left. I don’t know what God told them to do and so that is between them and God. I also saw miracles. The one that meant the most to me was my brother, Jim, who I have not spoken to in over 20 years, messaged me to say I was in his thoughts and he loved me no matter what. Storms are good for us, they remind us that life is fragile.

Most of our city was spared the brunt of Irma. No, we did not pray harder than those in other cities. No, we are not more blessed than others. Blessings come in all shapes and sizes. Ours were just different. The lessons for our family may not be the same for yours: but are you even looking for the lesson? I do hope that gratitude and a humbleness towards God fills the hearts of all that have suffered great loss or small losses. As we went to homes that needed our help, we saw neighbors helping each other. We saw signs in yards welcoming in anybody to shower or charge their phones. We saw families cooking meals for ALL of their neighbors. We saw people loving people; regardless of race, religion, or politics. We saw people being Christ-like that don’t even know what that means. I met people who I don’t know, but they had heard about us trying to help a family and they answered the call. They are still answering the call two weeks later.

The moment in all of this that revealed the most growth and trust in God for me came in the middle of the storm. I guess I should tell you that I do NOT like storms; of any kind. I don’t even like the everyday summer thunderstorms that we get in Florida. About every 30 minutes or so, as Irma passed over us, my husband would take my hand, lead me out of the safety of our home, and walk with me around our home. When the winds were the strongest, I was outside, holding my husband’s hand, and facing this storm head on. How could I be afraid when God had painted His promise across the sky and over our home the day before the storm?

Isaiah 41:10 “‘Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’”