Beauty After the Storm

Some time ago, I wrote a Moment of JOY and told you all about our home being hit by the tornado that ripped through Newnan in March of this year. It was a devastating experience. Here we are more than seven months later and we are back in our house. I could go on and on telling you about our experience in those seven months and all the challenges we have experienced, but that’s not what I want to share with you.

I want to share with you the blessing after the storm. It just so happens that our blessing is visual and tangible, but not every blessing is. Romans 8:28 tells us “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

It can be so challenging to stand firm on the truth that He does work all things for good; especially when we, as humans, are faced with some of the worst situations life could throw at us. Sometimes we just don’t understand the blessing on this side of eternity and we may never know. That seems unfair, doesn’t it? If we have to go through something so horrible, don’t we “deserve” to know why or what God is going to do with it? We need to know that God is God and we are not. He is just and he is working things out in us that we may not even be aware of.

I can honestly say that I’m a stronger person today than I was seven months ago. My faith is stronger. I’m more resilient and maybe one day I’ll encounter someone that has gone through a natural disaster and needs any bits of wisdom I can offer from my experience. I’ve become wiser and more humble through my experience.

Some people might be mad at God for “allowing this to happen” to them, but here’s the way I see it. On that night, my family was blessed to have a basement to retreat to for safety. So many people don’t have basements. Not only that, but in those moments when the tornado was overhead, it knocked several trees onto our roof. Three large trees all landed in the same area of our house, just above the front door. The exterior wall and one interior wall held up the massive weight of those trees and kept them from falling through to where we were below.

Fast forward to the start of our rebuild and remodel of the house. We had an engineer come out and make sure our foundation was still structurally sound and we had him evaluate to see if we could remove some interior walls while remodeling. The only interior wall we couldn’t remove was that one wall that held up the trees! That one wall had extra support built in, for some reason that I’m sure makes perfect sense to a builder, but none to me. All I know is that God protected us that night, with that wall.

We are now in the process of having a scripture verse made to put on that wall. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11.

That’s all I need to know. He plans not to harm me and plans to give me hope and a future. I believe Him and I’m grateful for His protection during the storm.

We’ve been saying for years how we wish we could remodel and upgrade parts of our house. While I wouldn’t have chosen to do it with a tornado, I am very grateful for our nice newly remodeled home.

If you are going through a storm in your life; don’t give up hope. God hasn’t left you and He’s not punishing you. Stay strong in your faith and keep turning to Him for peace that passes all understanding. I have personally been blessed with peace throughout my storm, and He will do that for you too!

“Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.” Psalms 55:22

*Amy de Graaff is the Listener Engagement Specialist with The JOY FM. She and her husband reside in Newnan. She is a child of God, animal lover and adventure seeker. You can reach her at: [email protected]