The Longest Month

October has been the longest month of my life — and the most stressful. The trial our family went through was greater than anything we've ever encountered. No, we didn't lose a loved one. No one was diagnosed with a serious illness. We weren't even voted out of our church. But we would have gladly traded our present trial for any of those!

This past month (and, actually, the past six) has been a battle for the soul of one of our children. Satan is so crafty. He comes as an angel of light. And he seduced our beloved son. I can't begin to express the agony we experienced as he seemed ready to throw away his faith in Christ. Our faith was tested. But God proved himself faithful.

God used this experience to teach me some lessons I should have already known. Before our son was even born we dedicated him to God. We raised him to love the Lord and to know right from wrong. I was reminded by a dear friend that I needed to trust that he really did belong to God, and trust him to do what was right. There's such a strong tendency for us to try to be the Holy Spirit and to forget that He really is speaking to the hearts of our children. God didn't want our son to be lost, either. God never let him go. And God reminded him to Whom he belonged.

I also learned the folly of pride. I have always been so proud of my children. And I still am. But I think sometimes I was proud in a wrong way. I thought that because we tried so hard to be good parents that surely our kids wouldn't stray. I thought we had done something right. Now I've been reminded that the grace of God is all I can depend on. We're certainly not perfect parents. And our kids aren't perfect, either. My children are human. They have free will. And they won't always choose what's right. But I will always love them and root for them and pray for them to follow the Lord. And if they turn out well, God gets all the credit.

I learned that God's Church is phenomenal. We had hundreds of people praying for us this past month. Prayer partners among our friends, relatives and church family prayed continually for our son. He was on other church prayer chains. People from television prayer ministries and Focus on the Family ministries prayed for him. And there is no match for that. God is greater than the Enemy! We were so humbled by the love and concern of so many wonderful people. We were prayed over by our District Superintendent and laypersons in our church. We were sent encouraging e-mails and cards from pastors and laymen and even one of our general superintendents. How overwhelming to experience such love! We were given a glimpse this past month of the true Church in action. And it's not often we get that opportunity to be on the receiving end of such grace. Thank You, Lord, for opening our eyes and surrounding us with Your love through Your people.

We know the trial isn't completely over. Satan doesn't like to lose. And I think he knows his time is short. He wants to destroy families. He particularly wants to destroy the homes of pastors. Praise the Lord that "greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world"! We know God will receive glory no matter what happens. As I told my son on Tuesday, "I've read the last chapter of the book and WE WIN!" We're claiming victory in the lives of our children and we're committing ourselves to more persistent prayer on their behalf.

Thank you to all of you who are wrestling in prayer with us. You have blessed us more than we could have imagined. Your prayers are making a difference in the life of our son. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Enough Is Enough

As you can see, I've done very little blogging lately. Who has time to write when every week (it seems) we have another hurricane to prepare for? I knew when I moved to Florida that hurricanes were a possibility, even a probability, but enough is enough already. Under the end table in my living room I have accumulated almost 100 bottles of water and over 20 pounds of charcoal just in case we should be without water and electricity for weeks on end. For the first time in over 2 years, my pantry is completely stocked with canned goods -- cans of tuna fish, SPAM, corned beef hash and Chef Boyardee beef ravioli. My freezer is almost completely empty, it's contents (along with my refrigerator's) having fallen victim to our 50-hour stint without electricity following Hurricane Frances. I'm very thankful that we didn't need to use our supplies -- it is a testament to God's gracious protection that we didn't! But the anxiety of the preparation and the thought of having to use our provisions and being without comforts, or possibly even without a home, has taken it's toll. I have joined the ranks suffering from hurricane fatigue.

However, I have learned some life lessons watching how people prepared or failed to prepare for the four hurricanes that hit Florida in the past two months. Some people were so busy with "life" that they never even knew a hurricane was coming. My sister was vacationing in Kissimmee the week that Frances hit. I called her a few days before and mentioned something about her flight home and whether or not she would still be able to catch it with the hurricane coming. "Hurricane? What hurricane? You're kidding, right?" was her anxious reply. Of course, I wasn't kidding, and my sister and her kids, after cancelling their flight twice, wound up driving all the way home to Buffalo, NY.

Other people knew the storm was coming, but they refused to believe it would hit us. And, for the most part, they were right. Here in Zephyrhills (30 miles northeast of Tampa) we barely got a breeze from Charley. Frances gave us a good amount of wind and floodwaters, but no massive damage like we saw on television. Ivan, after threatening us with catastrophic force, shifted to the west and missed us entirely. Jeanne, however, put a little fear into all of us, with hurricane-force winds that tumbled numerous trees in town. But all in all, we escaped with minimal damage. This time.

Still others knew the storm was coming but were somewhat cavalier about the whole thing. One neighbor told me when Charley was approaching, "Heck, it's only a category one or two. Ain't no big deal. I'm not afraid of no little hurricane." Charley wound up hitting Florida as a category 4 storm, but -- fortunately for my neighbor -- it hit much farther south than originally predicted.

Finally there were people like me who bought tons of batteries, food, water, extra flashlights, etc. We prepared for the worst and hoped (prayed) for the best.

Do you see a Biblical illustration here? These are the same ways people today prepare for eternity and the judgment to come. Some are so concerned about the cares of this life that they've never given it any thought. Others refuse to believe they will ever face judgment to begin with, no matter what the Bible says. Still others are arrogant enough to think that they'll tangle with God when they get there. And then there are those wise people who plan ahead and prepare. However, even those who prepare can become weary. I'll have to be honest, when it comes to hurricanes, I'm not sure how much preparation I'd do if I heard another one was headed our way. With Hurricane Jeanne, many people who had evacuated for earlier hurricanes decided to just stay put (even in their mobile homes) and take their chances. Hurricanes are one thing; eternity is another! Some good people who know Christ is coming back "someday" have simply become weary of the preparation. Peter described it like this:

2 Peter 3:3-4
First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation."

Paul reminds us:


Galatians 6:9
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Although the paths of hurricanes are uncertain, the future is not. Hebrews 9:27 tells us that it is appointed unto man once to die, and after that the judgment. Every single one of us will face a holy God and give account for what we've done with His Son. For some it will be more devastating than being hit head on by a category 5 hurricane. For others it will bring salvation and eternal life. But one thing is sure: The day is coming! Don't fall into the trap of "hurricane fatigue" in spiritual matters. You can't afford to! I can't afford to!