“We pray for
blessings, we pray for peace, comfort for family, protection while we sleep.”
It’s 1:30 a.m. and fragments of song
lyrics swirl through my mind as tropical storm Isaac pounds the island of Hispaniola.
With Jason and the boy scout group weathering the storm in Jacmel, it’s just me
and the two boys home tonight. I turn to
watch the peacefully sleeping Jayden beside me as our tin roof creaks and groans
in protest above us. The wind howls and waves of rain sweep the city but
nothing disturbs his serene sleep.
“I will both lay me down in peace and sleep: for thou
LORD only makest me dwell in safety.” I softly repeat the words of Psalm 4
as large branches of overhanging trees wildly slap our roof. The truth of the
words calms my anxious heart as song fragments continue to play.
“We pray for healing,
for prosperity, we pray for His mighty hand to ease our suffering. And all the
while, He hears each spoken need. Yet
loves us way to much to give us lesser things. Because what if His blessings
come through raindrops, what if His healing comes through tears, what if a
thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know He’s near, what if trials
of this life are His mercies in disguise?”
My thoughts travel back in time to the Woman’s Bible Study I
attended earlier this morning where this exact subject had come up. We
unanimously agreed that Haiti is a challenging place to live. Day to day life
in every aspect is just more difficult, trials are around every corner and the
needs of the people are simply overwhelming. Security remains a concern, and
now with hurricane season upon us the unsettling feelings of uncertainty refuse
to fade. But through it all, we’ve grown closer to God. Trials create
dependency, comforts rarely do.
The song words, “What if
my greatest disappointments, or the aching of this life, is the revealing of a
greater thirst this world can’t satisfy. What if the trials of this life, the
rain, the storms, the hardest nights, are His mercies in disguise?” are true. It's in the trials that He gently draws us closer.
Feeling His
comforting presence, and trusting in His mercy and love, the noise of the storm
fades to the background and I slowly, peacefully drift back to sleep.
1 comment:
Beautiful written Will.
Hope all is well with you all
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