Debris Always Tells A Story

When you live near the Texas Gulf Coast, hurricanes and tornadoes represent a normal part of life. Having lived through several destructive storms, one thing never ceases to evoke open-mouthed shock: the massive debris left in the wake of those storms.

I've learned that debris always tells a story.

Whether it's a car upside down on a rooftop, or a fence picket driven through a tree trunk, debris serves to remind us that devastation visited. We tend to remember where we were. What was destroyed. Who was rescued.

But what about life's personal storms?

Whether the loss of a child, a job, a relationship, or your health, personal storms can leave a path of shattered dreams and broken pieces.

Like the tornado of divorce that hit my life three years ago. Let me tell you, the emotional and spiritual debris following that heartbreaking storm threatened to bury me in anger, sorrow, and hurt. The aftermath of that storm could not be swept up neatly and placed a Hefty bag.

It took patient, painstaking sifting.

The debris removal required bulldozers and manpower directed by God alone. A Christian counselor and a trusted pastor acted as bulldozers, helping me to navigate a mental and spiritual path through the emotional litter toward healing.

Family and faithful friends provided the manpower. They came with their first aid kits of love, support, strong shoulders, and determination. God used them in powerful ways to put this Humpty Dumpty heart back together again. Act by act. Prayer by prayer.    

Then, of course, there was God.

He was the designer and architect of my new, post-storm life. He directed the bulldozers and man power in such a way as to rebuild on His unshakeable foundation. But I had to allow God to do the hard work of reconstruction.

Much like hurricanes or tornadoes, the debris from our life storms remind us where we were. What was destroyed. How God rescued us. It tells a story through our actions, reactions, and words.

God, the author and perfecter of our faith, never abandons us to clean up the mess alone. He reaches down in love with the hope of Christ and His superglue of love and forgiveness.

"He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds." Psalm 147:3

If you have been through a difficult life storm, yet the debris is still piled high around your life, perhaps it's time to let God's bulldozers do their thing. For your sake. For your family's sake.

And ultimately for His glory.

What story is your storm debris telling?

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