Troy and I went to Hawaii the end of January. There were just faint whisperings of this thing called the Coronavirus, but it felt very far away. I wrote the following on the plane on the way home.
As we hiked down the trail the foliage became fuller, growing taller than my head and threatening to cover the path. Green grass, so tall and thick. It looked just like the long grasses of my childhood that we would put between our thumbs and blow through to make a loud whistle. It looked just like it but it was much much bigger, taller, wider. It was the biggest grass I remember seeing. Jurassic. I thought to myself: “This Hawaiian grass is living to its full potential!”. The tepid weather, lush rains – it all creates a climate for fantastic growth.
I want to be like that grass. Living to my full potential. Growing into all that God made me to be. However, life is not all Hawaiian bliss. There are such hard things. Things that don’t feel like balmy temperatures or warm misty rain. There are things that feel like tornados and volcanos and blizzards. Things that in and of themselves were made to destroy my delicate jurassic grass. Is it possible to keep a climate of full potential growth, in the unpredictability of life?
Is it naive to think that surrounding my self with God’s truth will protect my grass? Truth like “He is with me. He is for me. He’s always working for my good. He’s immeasurably better then I can understand. The victory has been won. He has made a way. Heaven is home. Prayer changes things. He is my confidence. Nothing but the Blood of Jesus” This is my truth climate. It’s a climate I can take with me where ever I go. Things that will remain true, no matter what my circumstances.
It’s been a few months since I wrote that and now we are living the quarantine life. We can’t control the world around us but we can wrap ourselves in truth that never changes. Truth that makes our feet steadfast, our voices steady as we declare it out: Our God is bigger. What the enemy meant for evil our God will use for good. We were made for such a time as this. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit. His very name is Healer. Heaven is our home and death never wins. We won’t bow to fear because of the King who has already fought and won the greatest battle for us. We stand in the shadow of the cross, confident and bold in His story. Tornados and blizzards or not. His truth climate keeps us not just surviving but thriving.
