As hurricane season has begun and Hurricane Dorian barrels toward the coast of Florida, I am reminded of what a Big God we have. The power of His storm. The purpose of His storm. His provision for us during the storm. The peace He can bring in the midst of the storm and following the storm.

I pray that He will keep those in the path of Dorian safe, and that He will speak peace to the storm before it hits landfall. There is no question. He is in charge of the storm. He is a Big, Big God.

In 2000, a movie was made about an unusual storm that took place in 1991. It starred heartthrob, George Clooney. This storm was called “The Perfect Storm” and was about a confluence of two powerful weather fronts and a hurricane which caused, among other disasters, the sinking of a fishing boat, “The Andrea Gail.”  It is believed that the boat was literally swallowed by a giant, rogue wave in the midst of the storm. Rogue waves have been recorded as high as 10 stories (about 100 feet). The Andrea Gail was never to be heard from again.

From 2000 to 2010, two mega-storms were brewing in my life. These storms had been leading up to a perfect storm so huge that they threatened my livelihood, my life, and my faith. 

Storm Number 1:  On April 30, 2010, I discovered that I had an employee who had been stealing money from the company that I owned. Sounds terrible I know, but it’s sad to say that in our society today that’s just not that shocking as news goes.

What made it especially hard?   Well, she was one of my best friends, it was hundreds of thousands of dollars, and she had done it for over twelve years. “How does that happen?,” you’re probably wondering. To put it simply, she was in a position of trust. I trusted her with everything. I can’t even describe the hurt, the sleepless nights, the heartache I experienced for over 15 months waiting for the investigation to be complete and the case to be settled in Federal court.

Storm Number 2:  On June 5, 2011 as I drove to work from my son’s 5th grade awards ceremony, my phone rang. It was the breast imaging center and something didn’t look right on my mammogram. They wanted me to come back in. I remember so vividly calling my husband and saying, “Honey, I just can’t take one more thing!”  He said, “I know you can’t.”  But God had different plans, I did have to ‘take one more thing.’ 

On June 8, 2011, I learned I had breast cancer. The nurse told me that the cancer had been brewing for a long time as it takes 10 years for a 1 cm breast cancer tumor to form. Mine was a little bit larger than that, 1.8 cm.

I know that 1 out of 8 American women get breast cancer. You might think, “Well, that’s terrible, but not uncommon.” What made it harder was that my mom had breast cancer and I lost her to cancer on March 10, 2008. I now shared this disease with her, but I couldn’t share this with her. She wasn’t here.

Because of our family history, it was determined that I would need to have both breasts removed. On July 5, 2011, I had radical, bilateral mastectomies and began reconstruction. My world came crashing down around me.

How could I endure these storms?  Again, here we go. The hurt, the sleepless nights, the heartache, this time with constant pain for weeks and weeks. Additional surgeries were added to the mix. Wow, unbelievable, I couldn’t even describe how overwhelmed I was!

Then, God did something amazing in a way that only He can. He converged my storms and brought good out of the most horrific of situations. I was already dealing with the embezzlement case when cancer hit. I knew I couldn’t deal with that storm on my own with the other storm raging. I just gave my cancer to God right from the first minute.

The cancer helped me realize what’s most important in my life—my walk with God, my health, my family and friends. Someone once said, “Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and hoping the other person will die.” I had to forgive her. I already had enough poison in my body and I didn’t need any more.

I started praying and before long my heart changed toward her. At the sentencing before she left for federal prison, I was able to talk with her. I told her that I forgave her, I loved her and I would be praying for her. That was only possible because of God’s great love for me. Because of the work that He had been doing in my life through the storm.

Miracle Number 1:  I learned I wouldn’t have to have chemo or radiation. Once I got through the reconstruction journey, I could recover. I now have a new appreciation of my life. God has broken my heart for others dealing with pain, cancer and loss. I have a new passion to reach out to them.

Miracle Number 2: Behind us now is the sentencing and her time served. Perhaps, one of the greatest miracles in all of this is that the media didn’t do further harm to my business. They didn’t even mention it. Through the difficulty of those 15 months, our company became stronger. We made changes to insure such a problem could not occur again. She and I have since spoken, and much healing has taken place.

God is faithful!  He knows how to get us through a storm. He held me gently in His arms above the raging winds and sea. He slammed my two mega-storms together until they died to complete peace.

As my preacher says, “Peace is not the absence of the storm, it’s the presence of Jesus in your storms.”  Praise God, He rides in my boat through the storms of this life.  And that rogue wave, well, what I found out was that it was a wave of God’s grace and mercy as He washed His love and protection across my storms. I was swallowed up completely by it!  He held me tenderly and safely in His arms while He calmed the raging waters. What a Big, Big and Mighty God!

I promise you that He can handle the storms in your life too. He does it for me. He can do it for you too. Trust Him.

Dear Lord: Please protect those in the path of Hurricane Dorian. Let us never take for granted Your love and care for us that protects us through the weather storms, and all the storms of this life. We may not understand what You are doing, but we don’t have to because we can trust in Your great love for us. Show the world Your glory through the storms, and keep us nestled safely in Your arms as they rage. After the storms, may our lives show evidence of Your amazing power, purpose, provision and peace as You carried us through. We don’t have to worry because You are always faithful. You are who You say You are. You do what You say You will do. You are the Keeper of the storm. Amen

Is there a storm raging in your life? Jesus can carry you safely through, just trust in Him. Please share your comments, experiences, and encouragement with our group. Or reach out to me personally. I would love to pray for you.

Thank you for reading and sharing my blogpost today. May God hold You safely through the storms of this life while He shows you and everyone around you His great power and faithfulness. What a Big, Big God!