No Matter what the Cost

Well, I'd wondered when the other shoe would drop...when I would become one of those people who live in neighborhoods that the evening news would film in disbelief that the Lord had once more allowed something incomprehensible.  I live in the Pocono mountains in PA and last week we were hit with over a foot of snow ...and 50 mph winds which--because of the ground being saturated by prior rain-- took the trees down like bowling pins....Ripping out power lines which now block roads everywhere you go.

 

 

These photos are from various photographers in the  area who contributed this group of photos.  Sadly,  I do not have their names to be able to give them credit.

My house has had no power since March 1st when the first storm hit.  Right now I am at my dad's  house, trying to forget the horror of those freezing cold days at home. We have electric everything....no heat, no cooking, no water (toilet...) and NO SUMP.....(which meant our basement, which is half finished, would flood if power was not returned to run it.  It's a nightmare that happened to us once before in Hurricane Sandy; a nightmare that I'm praying to be spared from).

My husband was away when the storm hit so I was stranded alone in a house with temps in the house which ranged between 35-45 F.  All I did was put on as many clothes as I could and as many blankets as I could find and laid, covered on the bed and prayed not to die.  Either that or to die quickly. I felt guilty when I left because the cat had to be there alone and so cold.  she and I kept each other company and "warm."

My daughter was concerned about me so she called the security men from our development and they came to check on me several times.  One of the worst problems was being short of breath and away from my Oxygen source (which is electric). I could not walk from the kitchen to my bedroom without being so SOB (short of breath) that I would fall on the bed gasping and coughing.  My nebulizer also is electric.

My husband has returned home and set up a generator to keep the sump pump running and heat in our smallest room (my bedroom).  I'm at my dad's in NJ --he got power back yesterday. At my house now we still have no power.

What did I do in those days of darkness?  I laid in the dark and I prayed...not begging to be spared, but begging to know Jesus better...and then for my family somehow to see God in all of this, rather than to curse him.  I asked God for forgiveness because in a way I knew this storm to be a message...a message to me and to all who ignore him or don't talk to him or hear from him.  No God did not hurl a bunch of snow or go bowling with our trees in order to "Punish us" or to harm us. You know all know the verse I'm sure: Jeremiah 21:11
I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
God took his children in the Desert of Sinai through some hard times and when --after he'd blessed them beyond measure and they'd spit in the face of his goodness and chased after other gods worshiped by other nations, even going so far as to sacrifice their children in horrible ways... And let me tell you that babies and small children are a special delight to the Lord and he WILL NOT look the other way while his little ones suffer or are put to death.  When a nation leaves its godly foundation - once prosperity kicks in with its soul-numbing obsession with wealth and acquisition--God will not look the other way for too long.  He will do whatever it takes to have his lost sheep returned to the fold.  He had to take Israel into captivity to Babylon and a time of starvation and horror for those who remained in Israel.

So what am I saying?  that God is a god like Zeus, throwing lightening bolts like spears at unwitting mortals?  No, he is a jilted Lover, who will do anything to win back his beloved one(s).  He will allow them to suffer and to fear that he has abandoned us forever....until we seek him and once more, eagerly open our ears to hear his voice. 

That is what I did in those freezing cold days --when my skin was cold to the touch...when I did not leave a warm spot in the bed when I stood up.... I did what some people mocked me for and raged at me for....I talked to my Y'shua and asked him to make himself more real to me as a result of this suffering.  My heart breaks for those who are blinded by their hardness of heart and their rage and bitterness. I want them to know Jesus, like I know him.

Now we are supposed to get another 15" of snow. I'm asking God to change the path of that storm to circumvent this area and move elsewhere or better yet, just to go away, right off the radar...off the weather maps. But he has plans for us....plans for a hope and a future and I will not bypass his plans for us...I want to see that "hope and a future" that he has waiting...no matter what the cost.