God Is Bigger Than Any Disaster Zone

What a week. I found my emotions all over the board. My son's ship the USS Bataan arrived in Haiti waters over a week ago. Joshua said the days have been long. They are constantly flying helicopters on and off the ship. The USS Bataan is taking injured Haitians into their hospital.

Sailors are going ashore to help with the relief and clean up effort on shore. Joshua volunteered to be one to go and was denied because of his qualifications as an Air Traffic Controller. He was disappointed to say the least. It made sense to me him staying aboard the ship. (He was safe there!) They needed him there with all the air traffic going on. But as a mom I had to comfort him. I told him he needed to trust God. If he was supposed to be on shore it would work out. God was in control. "You just don't know why God does what He does." I told him. Two days later Joshua was calling me to tell me they had given him permission to go ashore. Suddenly it wasn't so easy to do what I had preached to my son. I liked him on the ship. It was safe! Him going ashore scared me to death. I didn't sleep well the next night. Sunday morning in Sunday School, our associate pastor asked, "Did you ever have an experience when you suddenly realized you weren't in control and only God was?" WOW! Talk about a slap in the face. I was as bad as the Pharisees. Do what I say not what I do. Well that was a real eye opener for me and I went home and did a lot of praying and seeking God. He gave me the peace I sought and needed. I knew no matter where Joshua was God could keep him safe.

Yesterday morning I got an email from Joshua. Apparently when he was ready to go ashore he was pulled again. They won't let him go, again, because of his qualifications. He's not happy about it. What did I tell him this time. "I'm sorry. And I will pray that if it is God's will the door will open for you to be able to go." And I have total peace about that. Because my God is bigger than any disaster zone. I don't know why things happen the way they do. Maybe sometimes it's to learn a thing or two about following Him. What I do know is He sees the big picture. He loves us with a love that is beyond comprehension. And He wants us to come to Him.