god's faithfulness in tragedy

There are moments in a Christian’s life that stand out. Like signs on the side of the road that mark historic events that occurred at that place, these moments cause one to come to a decision about their faith in God: will it increase? Deepen?

If a moment of question or tragedy causes someone to turn away from God, it must be questioned how close that person was to God at all. God doesn’t move; we do. If we turn our backs on the Lord, walk away from the faith that we once claimed as unshakeable, the question must be asked: were you worshipping the Lord God of heaven and earth, Creator of all; or you were worshiping your version of Him? If at any time you have uttered the words “Well, MY god wouldn’t do this or that…” you have been worshiping and serving an image, an idol – a god you have made up is no god at all.

God is so big and multi-faceted that to experience all of Him is too much for us to comprehend. He is Who He is and Who He is does not contradict Who He says He is in the Bible, which is His inspired Word. He is Glory and Love and Mercy. He is Good. Moses only had a glimpse, a passing-by of God in His glory and his face was shining like the sun. If someone looked at God in all His awesomeness it would kill that person. It is too much – only when we are in His presence in heaven with resurrection bodies can we experience all of Him. As we mature in the Christian faith, through a steady diet of the Word, Christian fellowship, study and most of all, prayer, He reveals more of Himself to us – as much as He believes we can handle.

There have been many moments in which I can put an “x” on a faith timeline and say here, this is a time and place in which my faith changed. It either deepened, strengthened, or God showed me a part of Him that I had never experienced before. When my abusive marriage ended, Jesus showed me that He is my Husband-Redeemer. He alone provides my needs.

When my son was diagnosed with autism He showed me that He does not make mistakes – and gave me the ability to teach my abstract-minded boy about God in concrete terms, deepening my faith while growing Sam’s.

When I sat alone on the beach during a faith retreat, praying to God and worshipping Him as the waves beat against the seashore, He showed me the same power that reins in the waves knows my name – even the correct spelling of it. The same God who makes earthquakes roar and rumble in the ocean, pushing up in the earth and forming a new island is the very same God who gently helps a Monarch butterfly break through its cocoon and spread its colorful wings.

When I was weakened from a virus the night my cancer-stricken dad died at my house, it was the Lord God Who heard my desperate cry to stay my fever and weakness so I could help my mom, and there it was – instantly, no fever, no weakness. That night He showed me His healing mercy and grace even as He welcomed my dad into His arms.

All these moments in time had one thing in common: God taught me something about Himself. He used these things for His glory.

In August 2015, in prayer, God revealed to me that He was about to bless us. I shared this with my husband of eight years. The last time God told me this, we conceived our daughter. Having had a hysterectomy, we, like Jesus’ mother, wondered what God meant by this. Certainly the God who can conceive via a virgin can conceive via a 44 year old woman who had already birthed three kids.

But a baby was not in order. God kept on revealing that a blessing was coming. Now, we often think of a blessing as something incredibly good, like a baby. Due to circumstances that were out of our control, a violent incident caused my husband to become permanently paralyzed from the waist down. Severe nerve pain is crippling, making him cry out. I’ve had to stop homeschooling our daughter due to the intense care he required. I had to stop writing for a while. The shooting devastated our family.

But, in this time, God showed up the moment the gun was fired in his back and he fell on his nose, causing it to bleed profusely. Church family met us at the hospital and our entire church lifted us all in prayer. The prayers were tangible. God’s presence was tangible – we could almost feel His breath on our necks as He embraced us and held us up. Every prayer that was prayed was answered.
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The blessing was His presence. He showed us His presence and glory that was almost too much to bear. I’d sit on a bench outside the trauma ICU and just cry-pray: Lord, it’s too much, Your presence is so powerful, it’s so powerful, we are not worthy…

At one point when his meds kicked in and the pain subsided enough for the tears to run down his cheeks without him screaming in pain, my husband told me, “Now I understand…looking at the pool of blood from my nose, now I understand…His body was broken and His blood was shed for us. It was real, it happened. He took the beating and the nails for us, willingly….now I understand…” and the pain took hold, sending him back into holding his hand up and yelling, “Praise Him in this storm! Praise Him!” Tears coursed down both our faces.

When, at 4:30 a.m., a pain medicine cocktail was given to him that knocked him out for a couple of pain-managed hours, I prayer-walked….Oh Lord, the needs….ramp to get in the house…will he be able to work? Christmas, Lord…He won’t be able to roll on the carpet in our house…what will we do?

Friends and family and total strangers heard about the incident. Funds poured into a GoFundMe site that was set up to meet our many needs. Our church told us to not worry about the house; several contracting companies had already heard about our story and had volunteered to do whatever was necessary to make our home accessible. God met each and every need we had through His Church. God used a terrible situation that satan meant for evil and used it to bring people closer to Him. He used it to show the world what the Church stood for instead of what it was against.

God used a terrible incident to bless not only us, but others through the outpouring of love and support shown to us by our church family. God’s strength in this time of desperation fueled our faith and we were outspoken about it. People in the community were amazed.

So were we. We were amazed that the Lord God of heaven would choose us to be His witnesses during this time. We are not worthy of the blessing that He bestowed upon us to be His vessels, yet, here we are, covered in grace and the power of the blood of the Lamb.

Oh, but the needs are still great. We’re dealing with the permanent aspect of this which is emotionally traumatizing. We’re dealing with taking him back and forth to work now and trying to find affordable, accommodating transportation with hand controls so he can have a semblance of freedom again. We’re dealing with the legal aspects. We’re dealing with maintaining a home, helping our kindergartner with her reading as she is in public school and helping our 18 year old son find direction in his life.

Life did not stop or slow down even though my husband’s legs no longer work.

We’re so beyond grateful to God – not only for the blessings of hardwood laminate throughout the house or a shower room that is incredible, or the ramps and deck that are mind-blowing and fully accessible, but in His presence and power. We’re so thankful that He works through His children. We’re so thankful for the GoFundMe account that has been used for the house rehab and for medical expenses.

Having been in this unthinkable journey in which all our lives were changed the instant that gun was fired, we realize the blessing God was telling us about was Himself. He was about to show us His power, presence and peace in ways we could not fathom them before. But going through this journey, we cannot understand how people can do this, go through similar tragedies, without Him. Without Christ.

We couldn’t do it. People have told us many times that we are so strong. I disagree. We are weak. We are puny and small and nothing without Jesus who lives in and through us. We are strong not because of our own faith, but because of Jesus. Jesus’ empty tomb means that He has victory over death and evil. What satan meant for harm, Jesus has used to glorify Himself. He is victor. He is sovereign.

Many people from around the world have asked how they can pray for us. As a believer in the power of specific prayer, here are the current needs that we humbly ask you to lift to the throne of heaven. We know God hears them.

• That God will be glorified throughout this
• That the perpetrators would come to know Jesus
• For an accessible, affordable vehicle that can accommodate hand controls and either a sedan in which his wheelchair can be dismantled or one in which he can transfer to the drivers seat easily
• For his pain to be managed
• For God to show us how He wants us to serve Him in ministry because of this powerful testimony He has given us

God is so very good. He has shown His tenderness and compassion even as he has shown us His power and might. To God be the glory. Always.
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In His Name,
Terrie
 
© 2016 Terrie McKee
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                                                                                                  

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