The eye of the hurricane

I had a strange dream last night.  The fact that I had a dream in the first place is in itself a bit off – I hardly ever dream – but the actual content of it was even more bizarre.  I dreamt that I was with my 80+ year-old grandmother (don’t ask me why), and we got hit by a hurricane.  Three hurricanes actually, right in a row; each one more devastating than the last.  Never mind the fact that I live in a landlocked area that hasn’t ever been hit by even one hurricane in my entire lifetime; in my dream it made perfect sense. 

But anyway, I digress.  The first two hurricanes that came through, I was panicked and frantic, trying to figure out how to survive the catastrophe.  But when the third hurricane hit, I followed a different tactic.  I prayed the entire time, asking God to get me through it.  And it’s strange, because it all happened within a dream, but I remember feeling such a peace, knowing that God was there and looking out for me.  It was as if I had found the eye of the hurricane, that tiny circle of solace in the middle of the storm.  

After I woke up, I did some pondering and praying about that night.  I dream so rarely, that whenever I do I generally figure that there’s something that God wants to teach me, and I had better pay attention.  And I realized that, while God promises to always be with us, He has never promised that things will be easy.  Sometimes, in fact, He may even allow you to be brought to a place of desperation.  But He does this not to harm you, but because He loves you and wants you to trust in and depend on Him more fully.  Even if that means allowing you to go through terrible storms.  Don't assume you know the whole picture.  Regardless of how hopeless things may seem at the time, in the end, God WILL protect you and see you through.  

Job 1:21-22
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”  In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.