James 1:2-4
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
On Monday, May 20th, Special Education aide Suzanne Haley sheltered her two daughters and several students in a classroom as an F5 tornado barreled down on Briarwood Elementary School in Moore, Oklahoma. When the storm passed, Haley said she “felt a heaviness” on her right leg, as if something was pinning her down. She could not lift her leg at all, and she asked one of her daughters to take a look and see if there was something in the way that could be removed. The daughter screamed when she saw that her mother’s leg had been impaled by the metal leg of what appeared to be a child’s school desk or table. Remarkably, the teacher’s aide/mother remained calm in front of her students. In an interview with CNN’s Piers Morgan, Haley later said, “"Amazingly by the grace of God I kept it together. If it's shock, it's shock. I couldn't go into hysterics in front of my children, in front of the other students. I had to be calm for them. Not even until after surgery, when I came out of anesthesia, did I lose it."
This heroic single mother of two protected her students and children at risk of her own life. In her interview with Morgan, she related that First Responders had whisked her away to the nearest available hospital…which was not a facility that honored her insurance coverage. While the table leg missed any bones and pierced the flesh and muscles underneath her leg, Haley still faces three months of therapy and recovery. On top of this, she reported, “My car is now in a pond near the school.” Haley said a fund had been established already to help defray her expenses, but that she didn’t truly know how she would make ends meet. Morgan assured her that a link to information about her expense fund would be posted on CNN’s website.
This morning, Piers Morgan’s blog included a post that announced that Suzanne Haley’s insurance company plans to cover her entire hospital bill. Whether this will include the therapies she will require is unknown… but it’s a start. Surely, Suzanne Haley’s faith – and that of countless other Oklahomans – was tested on May 20th… and rewarded. And I can’t help but believe that her endurance will grow as a result. She will no doubt be a better mother, teacher’s aide, friend, and servant because of her troubles and the chance to strengthen because of them.
It shouldn’t take an F5 tornado to get our attention. We should be fully developed in our faith and without any need. But that is simply not the case for 99.9% of us. We do have doubts, challenges, and frustrations. We often have no clue how strong we truly are… much less Who is responsible for that strength! But we can grow and learn… even from the horrific experiences of others like Suzanne Haley and the people of Moore, Oklahoma.
The next time your faith is tested, think of May 20th. Remind yourself that the God who gave men, women and children Supernatural strength and courage in the face of what must have appeared to be most certain death and destruction will do the same for you. I pray that your faith is never tested in this manner. But I know that we will all be tested in some way. How will you react? Will you patiently endure your trials and grow through them? Will you come out stronger and more sure of God’s love and care for you?
Just how needy are you today? What is missing in your life and your “faith walk?” Are you patiently working through whatever God has allowed to come your way? Do you know that He is with you every step of the journey? Won’t you allow Him to help you work through your tests… and to find joy on the other side? Aren’t you ready to lack for nothing in the LORD? Isn’t today a good day to start the process?
©2013 Debbie Robus
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