Sovereignty in Adversity

Lately it seems my whole life spins around Katrina’s aftermath. My business is effectively closed until further notice, and life is just generally in upheaval on every level. Small things – going to Burger King, where you can no longer have it your way, because all they are selling is combo meals, with either dressed or plain burgers, and be prepared to wait. But most restaurants have not yet reopened, so you can take it their way or take the highway. Large things – my church was under 12 or so feet of water so we’ll be meeting somewhere else for, say, the next couple of years, while we go through the rebuilding process.

My gratitude for ordinary things is way, way, up. Hearing the voice of a friend (hey, the phone works!), going to church (on Saturday, since another church is graciously allowing us the use of their building) and hearing the Word, seeing my church family. I am so grateful for these things, that most things, even the (probably temporary) loss of my business, seem very small. I’ve been thinking about the worst times of my life, and this is not in that category, and then thinking about the aftermath. The best (worst) example – I married young and impulsively, and quickly got pregnant. Things went from bad to worse and when I was 4 months pregnant, unemployed, broke, hungry, and facing eviction I dug my dusty old bible out of a box. I flipped it open to a random page and found Romans 8:28. I was comforted. It was a personal message from God. I felt that no matter how much I had messed up since my salvation 3 years before, that God would fix it and it would all be okay somehow. An hour later, my husband came home, packed a bag and left. I found out later that he committed suicide. Hurt, angry, I questioned God – didn’t you just tell me that things were going to be okay? And now he’s gone – what is that supposed to mean and how can this be fixed now?! I didn’t understand.

That was one of the worst times in my life, but God took me from that place to now, where I am happily married to the greatest guy in the world, who adopted my daughter, and provides for us both. The chain of events leading up to now is a series of miracles, people lost and found, cured cancer, trust, betrayal, and restoration. God changed me profoundly on that journey, and I would not give up one minute of it or change a single thing.

This weeks sermon was “Shaking, Pruning, and Refining” (listen here) and it has given me a lot to think about and look forward to. We will look back on Katrina’s aftermath and see God’s handiwork – amazing, awesome and inspirational – and know that it worked together for our good.