Witness

Life in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was no picnic. I know that most people are tired of hearing about it as it has been almost four years now, and I never imagined that I would be writing a post about it myself. It’s easy to blame Katrina for just about everything, it seems. We put her on a shelf and then when something goes wrong or a major problem arises, we take her down, dust her off, and put her on display one more time for the entire world to see.

It wasn’t just the storm that did me in; I had other problems that year. My sister passed away in April, the storm hit in September, and for the rest of the year I found myself constantly on the road with my job as my company rebounded from the cataclysm. I’m a creature of habit and I like things to stay normal and consistent, but things only got worse from there as travel increased the following year. I missed so much with my wife and my children and it is time that I can never regain. The absurdity of it all also caused my Spiritual life to go into the tank; though I’m still not too terribly happy to confess that part of the story.

In the midst of all of the turmoil, God sent me a friend. I won’t mention his name on here, because that would be bad form without his prior approval, but I will tell you about him. I originally came to know him by his username, ‘Witness’. He’s a missionary in another hemisphere, and he was going through dark times of his own. We shared our doubts and fears through email and on message boards, and both of us eventually came back to the conclusion that God was always going to be there for us. Though we never met face-to-face nor spoke audibly on a telephone, we had many, many conversations together and he became what I can truly call one of my best friends. Looking back, I have no doubt that God, through His infinite wisdom; put us in contact with each other. God is always in control. God is always right on time.

Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Life is tough. Things happen. Storms come and go. Friends may let you down and families sometimes fall apart. Sin seems to be always crouching outside of our door, waiting for us to stumble and fall. But Jesus knew this and offered each of us a dramatic invitation to drop our burdens at his feet and find rest in Him. He calls us ‘friend’ and invites us to get to know Him better, and in so doing we find that He faced trials and temptations similar and worse to anything we might happen to find ourselves going through. Most of all, He offers us a chance to drop the burden of the world and all of its sorrows and replace it with His burden, which He assures us is lighter than the one we are carrying. That’s a good trade, but it’s up to us to accept it.

My friend is doing well on the mission field. I know this because we still keep in touch with each other. His emails to me are always opened immediately and in utmost anticipation of the good report I know I’ll find written therein. Though I know we will probably never meet face-to-face during this lifetime; I am assured that we share a Heavenly Father and it’s only a matter of time before He will call us both home. We’ll have a lot of catching up to do then, and I’m sure he’ll have many incredible stories to tell me.

In the meantime, I find myself travelling a lot lighter these days. It’s a great feeling, and it keeps that storm on the shelf where it belongs.