FLOOD DAMAGE

Yesterday, I had so many thoughts in my mind in regards to what I had just seen. We talk about the effects of a flood, but sometimes, it's not until we are physically present to see, hear and sense what has taken place and still lingers, to truly understand what has just taken place.

I sit here, thinking and writing....you see, the whole phrase, "We just got flooded out." hasn't quiet left my mind since yesterday. I had heard about the flood and the damage it had caused, but yesterday, I walked through the hallways and saw all the damaged furniture, I smelled the dampness that loudly said, "I did it! Yup, it was me! I wiped them all out!" I saw the walls, ripped away leaving only metal frames. I saw the equipment, computers, desks, and well, everything, damaged and gone. That's where it all clicked in, though.

It was in seeing people working together to clean up and see what they could find to clean and restore or use again that the visual began to work a message in my heart. It was there, in the smelly, damp aftermath, that I said, "Well, I guess we have no other choice but to start anew. God does have a way of doing things."

It was there that I saw that even in a negative situation, God was answering prayer. God was still in control, even through the flood, through the storm, through the loss of everything, He was present, releasing a Word of Hope, a Word that promised a new beginning.

Isn't that how it is? God will have to sometimes allow the flood to come to see if we'll hide in the Ark of His protection and allow Him to make all things new. All things new.

That's what I long for. 
I don't just long for all things new in this place where they have lost everything. In my heart, I was praying for a way to help them see they needed change, to work together to clean up house, to open up to receiving what I had to give them, and it just seemed like it was going to be so difficult. But, here they were, the very people that only a few weeks ago seemed to not want to hear or see me, now they were allowing me to clean up and be part of their recovery efforts. 

I can't explain it to you, but in the midst of the chaos, I felt joy. I felt peace. I felt God saying, "It's my way of giving you a brand new start."

So, of course, I can't just leave it all to my life on the outside, I always believe God allows all things as a lesson for me on the inside. 

Flood damage comes in all kinds of ways. Today, or at least for the past few days, the flood seems to be in my home, hitting hard. It's like one thing after the other, but most importantly, it seems my youngest keeps getting the worst of it. He's sick again and for a T1D, even if he hasn't eaten, the blood glucose can still keep soaring. Many medicines make the sugars go up. A fever or even fighting a cold can make his need for insulin be greater than on regular days.

I confess, I'm tired and I don't know what to do sometimes. I feel worn out, frustrated, and soaked in the flood that has come crashing down upon me and my home. I don't know how to clean up and lead this family to where we can begin to experience, "all things new". 

The truth is, I don't have a choice in the matter because, just as yesterday's team had no choice but to assess the damage, clean up and get things back to working order, I have to do the same. I have to get it together, regardless of how I feel or what I don't feel. God is making all things new. It is a new season, regardless of what I see going wrong.

The flood has taken over and what am I going to do about it? Do I sit around and mope, cry, throw a tantrum, or do I put on my rubber boots and begin the clean up, starting on aisle 4, no, I mean, the living room or the kitchen? The clean up starts in my heart. It begins in my mind. It is initiated in my spirit as I allow God to guide me through the hard times. 

Clean up begins as I believe for the promises of God to take me to a new place, not only spiritually, but physically. I cannot stop believing for my son's healing. I cannot stop believing for prosperity and joy in my home. I cannot. I have no other choice and neither do you.

What does the flood in your life look like?
Is it sickness?
Is it financial hardship?
Is it a battle in your home where the family has days where they all go at each other for no reason?
Do you feel darkness and all principalities have unleashed their worst upon you?
Do you regret your choices and can't seem to stop blaming your current situation because of your past?

Are you stuck and you want to run but the flood has overtaken you and you don't know what to do?

It's time to not only build an Ark to dwell in as the flood has it's way, and until God allows us to come out of the Ark to start our new life in the new work He is placing before us, but I also think of the Ark of the Covenant. Just as God made promises to Noah, and sealed with the rainbow, the Ark of the Covenant would later resemble again, God keeping His promises and providing for His people, through the hardships they would face.

So, the flood has come. Without a doubt, I may even have the damp smell on me. Yet, as I sign off, I want to declare for myself and for you that God is making all things new! Regardless of how, when or where, you and I are going to see God work all the details of our lives out. Yes, we are with the mop, the bucket, the mess, and the fatigue of dealing with the flood, but it is almost over. God has allowed it all for a reason, to make all things new. 

So, come Spirit of the Living God and breathe upon me, upon my son, upon my children, my family, my friends. Breathe new life into our spirits, our homes, and our workplace. Breathe into our situations and make all things new. Breathe and lift us up. Let your glory fill our homes, our hearts, and bring the needed change. Bless us and lead us to be a blessing wherever we go, in Jesus Name, Amen.