I awoke at about 4 or so this morning to a huge crack of thunder and the sound of rain. An all familiar sound as it had been raining for about a day and a half. A storm was here, not sure her name or if she even had a name but she was dumping 8 - 12" of water on little ole Hispaniola (the island of the DR and Haiti). Officially not sure what kind of storm they called it, a tropical depression, tropical storm, Caribbean disturbance, but it was raining....a lot. I needed to go downstairs to make sure the towels were set on the floor under the leaky windows, the bucket was under the ceiling fan in the kitchen that hot water would leak out of (yea that can't be good), that the towel keeping water out of the house was ok at that back door (since the back yard is level with the inside of the house and my small walled in ceramic tile patio likes to drain into my dining room). I opened the door to my bedroom and the stench hit me. Not a familiar smell, but a bad one for sure. Oh no, I headed down the stairs and now as I look back, a little more awake now, this is where I start to get thankful.
Thankful that....
- I only slipped a little as I walked down the tile stairs half asleep
- As I stepped onto the 1st floor tile floor in my bare feet that I was already cautious and caught myself from totally wiping out on my water soaked floor and smashing my head on the tile steps
- I immediately found the source of the water as I followed the stench into our small half bath to discover the floor drain was no longer a drain but a fountain
- Thankful that the rain did stop so the water would stop coming
- It was only a little bit of sewage that was mixed in with the water
- I have a husband who I can wake up to come help me sweep water out the back door
- That even though I was barefoot standing in water when I unplugged the tangled mess of cords behind the entertainment center I didn't electrocute myself
- The power that had been on and off all day was on and we could actually see what we were dealing with
- That we only got tense with each other once and I realized letting him lead would be the best for both of us
- I had just swept under all the furniture and mopped so the million dust bunnies were now safely off to the landfill vs. floating all around my new living room swimming pool
- We have 2 brooms to sweep the stinky water across the length of the house and out the door
- I have a washing machine to wring the water out of towels that were being used as barriers to keep the water going in the direction we wanted it
- For the groups like Brookstone Baseball who brought and donated towels after they came to serve here in the DR. For Athletes in Action who donated a bunch of towels and those yummy smelling laundry detergent pod thingies so I could wash out the stench
- My neighbors didn't yell out "Hey gringa what the heck are you doing laundry for at 5:30 am?"
- This storm came when we were home and not a couple weeks ago when we were visiting family in the US
- The kids were already in our bed so I didn't feel bad stealing their fans to dry up the last of the water and clear out the smell
- I had hot water to shower the yucky water off my bare feet and sweat off my tired body
- I live in a 2 story concrete block home with a concrete roof and glass windows so I can retreat upstairs away from the storm
- I know where I need to caulk the windows after all the rain stops and they dry out
- I can be prepared next time with a sump pump for the drain
- It is Sunday so I can go back to bed after it is all over
As I was taking a shower I thought of JBJ (Jodi before Jesus) and how the old me would have reacted to something like this. I know it would have involved a lot of anger, annoyance and probably some swearing. I got to thinking, or God got to talking and I listened, while I was in the shower. He told me...
"That there are going to be storms I can guarantee that. Following Me isn't always easy, but it will be worth it and better than the alternative. Aren't you glad I woke you up with that huge crack of thunder, and then that second one? Now that you look back just think of how bad it could have been if you had fallen down the stairs? You know all those ice bucket challenges and the people lifting heavy buckets of ice water over their heads, well if you had ALS you wouldn't even be able to adjust your rear view mirror without a struggle. You can see, walk, talk and you are pretty smart. You have been blessed with white privilege and I take care of you through your supporters each and every day. You are blessed right?" It didn't feel mean. It felt convicting. And I needed conviction. Conviction gets me back on track.
It was at this point that I began to weep a little. I prayed, Lord use this water to wash all the filth off of me. No I don't mean the sewage water I fear is seeping into the cracks on my pedicure needing feet, but the times I am selfish with my time and don't give it to you. When I am ugly to my family when they deserve grace, love and compassion and not my feeble frustration with stupid things. Lord I know you love me and you know I am going to be having this conversation with you again probably in the near future, but thank you for Your grace and forgiveness.
You know what, storms are coming. Sometimes we will get a crack of thunder, a warning sign, and sometimes we won't. What we have to remember is that this earth is not our home and these things are not important when you look at them from an eternal perspective. Is my family ok, are we safe, can this be fixed? Yes, and yes it is annoying, but there is so much more suffering going on. Not just here in the DR as people's houses get washed away in this storm. I can only imagine that there were many who were sleeping on their dirt floor last night who were awoken as water rushed through their little tin house. So no pity party for me and my now clean and dry house with good smelling towels drying on the floor.
.JPG)
There is a whole world out there with issues and problems. I can't live just in my my little world and not be worried about the rest of the world. When the storms come I know I can hold on to Jesus and for me I find great hope in that. JBJ didn't have that hope in eternity. She had hope in what she was in control of. She didn't even know what she didn't know. Now that I know I am so thankful that Jesus took a hold of me and my heart. No I am not perfect, but each day I am sanctified more and more to be what He wants me to be. I know when I don't spend time in His word every day it is easy to slip back into the world and away from my true potential as a Christ follower.
Come Lord Jesus Come,
Jodi Shaheen
"That there are going to be storms I can guarantee that. Following Me isn't always easy, but it will be worth it and better than the alternative. Aren't you glad I woke you up with that huge crack of thunder, and then that second one? Now that you look back just think of how bad it could have been if you had fallen down the stairs? You know all those ice bucket challenges and the people lifting heavy buckets of ice water over their heads, well if you had ALS you wouldn't even be able to adjust your rear view mirror without a struggle. You can see, walk, talk and you are pretty smart. You have been blessed with white privilege and I take care of you through your supporters each and every day. You are blessed right?" It didn't feel mean. It felt convicting. And I needed conviction. Conviction gets me back on track.
It was at this point that I began to weep a little. I prayed, Lord use this water to wash all the filth off of me. No I don't mean the sewage water I fear is seeping into the cracks on my pedicure needing feet, but the times I am selfish with my time and don't give it to you. When I am ugly to my family when they deserve grace, love and compassion and not my feeble frustration with stupid things. Lord I know you love me and you know I am going to be having this conversation with you again probably in the near future, but thank you for Your grace and forgiveness.
You know what, storms are coming. Sometimes we will get a crack of thunder, a warning sign, and sometimes we won't. What we have to remember is that this earth is not our home and these things are not important when you look at them from an eternal perspective. Is my family ok, are we safe, can this be fixed? Yes, and yes it is annoying, but there is so much more suffering going on. Not just here in the DR as people's houses get washed away in this storm. I can only imagine that there were many who were sleeping on their dirt floor last night who were awoken as water rushed through their little tin house. So no pity party for me and my now clean and dry house with good smelling towels drying on the floor.
There is a whole world out there with issues and problems. I can't live just in my my little world and not be worried about the rest of the world. When the storms come I know I can hold on to Jesus and for me I find great hope in that. JBJ didn't have that hope in eternity. She had hope in what she was in control of. She didn't even know what she didn't know. Now that I know I am so thankful that Jesus took a hold of me and my heart. No I am not perfect, but each day I am sanctified more and more to be what He wants me to be. I know when I don't spend time in His word every day it is easy to slip back into the world and away from my true potential as a Christ follower.
Come Lord Jesus Come,
Jodi Shaheen
