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About seven years ago there was a spiritual storm of such epic proportions I am still reeling, recovering, rebuilding. “Finding a new normal,” they call it.
Seven years ago. I like that because 7 is the Lord’s number, so 7 years post-storm is a good time to thank Him for spitting me out, reasonably intact, on the other side. There is always an “other side,” no matter how big the storm. When Jesus gets into the boat to cross the lake, He says, we go to the other side. When He is napping, the disciples wake Him up, He rebukes the wind, and they go to the other side.
There is never any question they are going to the other side.
Those words were so important, the promise, the authority, because when you are scared, when there are waves all around you, when the wind is raging, oh ye of little faith…..
Before the storm hit, things got very prophetic, I knew a storm was coming, and I was being prepared. For weeks. I would dream of Jesus pointing to His eyes, as if to say, just keep your eyes on me and all will be well, but I didn’t understand. Not really.
I won’t bore you with the details, but the storm came and it really was epic, the storm of the century. I can only tell the tale in bits and pieces, show the lists I made, the charts, because that much crap cannot land on one person’s head all at once. It simply isn’t possible. No one would believe me. I don’t even believe me and I was there.
Always, always, in prayer, in dreams, there was Jesus pointing to His eyes, keep your eyes on me, we go to the other side. There really wasn’t much I could do but hang on and keep my eyes on Him. I call it being a bilge rat. That’s when you hunker down on the bottom of the boat and hope for the best. For months.
I got mad a few times, and scared, there was much angst and gnashing of teeth. I spent one morning yelling at God, accusing Him of breaking promises, of having forgotten me….and than the afternoon repenting of yelling at God. I felt even worse, over burdened by life, and now guilty too, unable to receive His grace. I was turning into the very storm that was a raging all around me.
That evening I kept hearing that Still Quiet Voice say, “I named it after you.”
Listen to me. Your storm against me this morning, I named it after you. I walked into the kitchen to get some tea and suddenly there I was on the TV, my name in bold yellow, my real name, running on a ticker under the photos of a spiraling tropical depression, a soon to be hurricane. I dropped my tea immediately and it shattered in a million pieces on the tile, but I didn’t even care, it was His grace that called to me, that amazing grace that is just so beyond words. Not just forgiven, but seen, heard, and accepted just as I was.
She fizzled out, my storm, never building into a full hurricane, but His word never fizzles and neither does His grace. That is the God I know, One who makes His presence known to us if we have the eyes to see, One who always knows just what we need.
“I named a storm after you.” Best pick up line ever. I was smitten. Charmed. Encouraged.
gmgoetz said:
Thanks for sharing. Storms are not fun at all when one is going through them. Knowing the Captain of the seas, who is also in control of the waves and the storms does carry us through though. Storms within church fellowships have to be the worst storms. Jesus has carried me through a tornado in the past, with lies swirling all around. But in the end Jesus received Glory, we moved on and were able to get involved and lead outreach ministries , which was my passion, and still is although I cannot be actively involved any longer due to health reasons.
God’s Blessings IB as you continue to serve Jesus Christ and bless many of us.
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A dad said:
“No one would believe me.”
Job, seemed to have the same issue.
When truth is stranger than fiction,
One has to suspend disbelief to take in the truth!
😏👍🕊🔥🔨
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Salvageable said:
I know seven is a special number, but don’t you mean “about ten years ago”? J.
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insanitybytes22 said:
LOL! Time is not linear, and time is often suspended in the heat of the moment. The storm with my name on it happened in 2013, just about halfway through a larger storm of life.
Alas, I was rather disappointed she was “downgraded, sputtered, fizzled,” relegated to the “tropical depression” category. Good for the people in her path of course, but the language was quite funny, in terms of abraded pride. One much prefers to be a raging hurricane rather then a slight stirring of wind and some rather pathetic rain. Just the same, the timing was awesome. 🙂
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oneta hayes said:
A few weeks ago I posted the quote: “Sometimes God stills the storm; other times, he stills his child.” It is wonderful to know he stilled his child first then stilled the storm. You had personal victory in Him, you may not have had much to do with stilling the storm. Of course, since it had your name on it, that must have been his purpose. How personal, how sweet, how creative. What an adventure – and how nice that it is over. Except as you say, a bit anti-climatic. Riding the crest of the wave when you know you will land safely can be pretty heady! You worded it quite right. It is often so aggravating to have a bump that hurt but leaves no bruise. 😀 (Thank you for this unbelievable but true story. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction.)
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Salvageable said:
OK; I was thinking of one with the same name which accomplished a little more before fizzling. Don’t even get me started on tropical depressions…. J.
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atimetoshare.me said:
Thanks for this post today. It really is necessary for me right now.
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SLIMJIM said:
This was a very moving post; even though you did not reveal the trial this made me think of something I went through a few years ago that I’m glad I went through the other side and at the time it was very confusing. Thank you for sharing this.
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mastersamwise23 said:
I would have been like, “Yea that was awesome God but maybe next time just name a star after me”. 😂
Awesome story!
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Tricia said:
Touching post IB, it made me think of my own times God has spoken so plainly in the midst of absolute chaos. Always there and always comforting, always guiding me through whatever yuck I needed to go through to get to the other side. And there’s me, always forgetting too quickly all that He has done.
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newenglandsun said:
no hurricane insanity from 7 years ago. insane person…
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