It happened again. I was conducting a women of color leadership circle through CCDA (Christian Community Development Association) and it started. The sirens went off. A notification on my phone stated that my area was in danger and to take shelter. In my pantry, I continued to facilitate the conversation. The winds were so strong and you could hear the freight train noise. Despite that all of that was going on around me, I was cautious but continued to focus on the work ahead.
Sadly, my former place of employment suffered significant damage. Only six miles away from my house, the roof was blown off while staff were in the building. As an organization designed to help others during natural disasters, they are now in need of help. No one was injured but the trauma of such an experience is life changing.
I’ve gone through some terrifying situations in my life. As a young woman, I remember attending a party as a college student and hearing gunshots. The fear took over and everyone began to run toward the exits. As I was holding my friends hands to make sure we stayed together, we were afraid of not only being shot but being trampled. We ultimately decided to remain inside and hide instead of going outside to the unknown. After some time, we left only to discover that someone had been shot and killed.
I remember even outrunning a tornado. We were leaving a visit with my family in Louisiana to return to Texas and in our rear-view mirror, we saw a funnel cloud. As others were pulling over, we decided that we could make it. It was nothing but God that we made it. As I reflect over my life and so many situations that could have gone wrong or been worse, I see the hand of God through it all.
Life happens to us all. “For there is no partiality with God.” (Romans 2:11) Bad things happen to good people all the time. “He makes his sun shine on both wrong and good people. He lets the rain fall on people who do right and on people who do wrong. (Matthew 5:45 WE) Part of the human journey is to have experiences that are both good and bad. I remember as a child hearing people give an incorrect narrative: That becoming a Christian would make life easier. Trust and believe, this is not the truth.
As a believer, life still has its challenges but what you begin to realize is that you can get through those situations with God instead of going through it alone. “When life is good, enjoy it. But when life is hard, remember that God gives us good times and hard times. And no one knows what will happen in the future.” (Ecclesiastes 7)
Some people become immobilized because of their fear of the unknown. The uncertainty of life paralyzes them and they don’t live. We don’t know what will happen from day to day. We all make plans, but our plans change or get derailed. I’ve learned the value of having faith instead of fear.
Faith doesn’t ignore what is going on around us. Faith keeps our focus on God instead of our circumstances. “Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever. They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Their hearts are secure, hey will have no fear; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.” (Psalm 112:6-8)
We put our faith in God knowing that God is in control of our lives—we may not have the power to control situations, but we can make a choice to choose faith over fear. Know that God says, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear…’” (Hebrews 13:5-6)
Storms come and go in our lives. No matter what, we can be assured that our faith in God will carry us through. Choose faith over fear every time. You will not go wrong.
Dr. Froswa’ Booker-Drew is the CEO of Soulstice Consultancy and the founder of the Reconciliation and Restoration Foundation (r2fdn.org). She is the author of four books including Empowering Charity: A New Narrative of Philanthropy (Baylor University Press, 2022) and the host of the Tapestry podcast.
