Tornado Category F5. I am always so impacted by families searching through the debris after such a disastrous storm, trying to find something recognizable and salvaged in the splinters that were once their homes and lives; their normal. I always think of daunting the task would be. Where do they even start? Will it ever be cleaned up? Will this place they once called home be home again, with backyard picnics, Christmas mornings and family dinners. As they rummage through piles they might find a family heirloom, maybe just a picture they had, a stuffed animal, but its something. They hold it dearly as a treasure.
This week I have been praying and I feel the Lord gave me this picture. In seasons of our lives we have storms, crazy storms that we all learn to weather. But every once in awhile we are caught off guard by the category F5. It can tear through our lives and devastate in such a way that there are causalities and hopelessness. In the midst of the storm the focus and thoughts are only basic survival. But when the storm subsides the focus turns to the aftermath; the cleanup and rebuilding. Where do you begin to pick up the pieces and rebuild?
My heart was heavy as I thought about this and I imagine so many F5s that have wreaked complete havoc on marriages, relationships, business ventures that seem to have ended in broken dreams and complete loss. But as I saw this image in my mind playing out while praying, I saw the beauty in searching and finding the treasure amongst all the broken debris. Maybe the little treasure is a memory of why you fell in love with the person you now seem to not be able to stand. Maybe the treasure is a promise of God you have for a child you have no earthly reason to believe will turn around, maybe its the treasure of a dream and talent you had, a passion. Maybe it's the strength for yourself to still breath, still smile after a loss of a loved one
, or your child's smile if they have lost. Even if all has seemingly been lost, find and search out the treasures in the wreckage. Allow God the time to heal. Yes the cleanup requires work and is exhausting and costly; its timely and requires a different perseverance than what was happening in the midst of the storm. It has to move from basic survival mentality to restoration mentality.
If you have been with a F5 that has devastated, look for the treasures in the mess, remember "why", and roll your sleeves up to be ready to rebuild, putting God in the center to guide, bring peace and comfort. He will often times bring those "clean-up volunteers" alongside of us to shoulder the pain, the work, the mess. I thank God for those helpers who have shouldered with me; in prayer, service, laughs and tears.
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