A Difficult Place

When faced with sudden changes in our everyday lives and what one would consider a deviation from the acceptable norm by human standard, it is believed that we have come to ‘a difficult place.’ And because we are wired differently, and our genetic make-up is so diverse, it is quite natural for each person to respond or react in different ways to circumstances that they encounter.

‘A difficult place’ for some can be a time for learning and growth through ones own experience. It becomes their teaching moment, a time for serious introspection and an opportunity to either set new goals or re-define previous ones and to develop new strategies by which one can easily move forward.

At the end of it all these are great things that anyone can look forward to. The pain and suffering of being in a difficult place is minimized by the light of the positive outcomes that you can almost immediately envision at the end of the tunnel.

But for others, what happens when your difficult place is suddenly turned into ‘a desperate place’ and in those moments which seems like an eternity, you just want to escape – not wanting to bother or rather deal with the wave of emotions that comes with being in such a place. When your world is suddenly turned upside down, can you really find spiritual solace in words such as “I [God] will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5) or “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

Can you really trust a good God – God who can do no wrong yet the same God who allowed your nest to be ruthlessly ruffled and your young violently ripped from your arms in which you held them tight?

In the wake of utter devastation such as what has followed the passage of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, coupled with my own bitter memories of past experiences with hurricane Georges some years ago, I find myself asking again all these questions. What do you do when you no longer find yourself in a difficult place but a desperate place?

What do you do when the killer forces of nature unleashes its’ wrath and, the frightening blow it delivers, you find yourself in intense suffering, and nature itself sets up the road blocks that denies you the most basic human needs such as food, water and shelter? Even if it is just for a short time, it can feel like eternity. You are no longer in a safety mode, your adrenaline picks up speed – it’s a fight for survival because there is no where left for you to flee.

Where do you find the courage to pick up the pieces [if any] in order to start rebuilding your life amid such trauma and as one describes it, ‘like hell on earth?.’ The evidence is there by the images of traumatized survivors that breaks even the coldest of hearts.

For days on end, it becomes darker and colder on the inside of you. Your faith becomes shattered! To a large extent, you become numb with pain as you wait desperately for relief to come. The silence gets louder, but you are forced to remain strong through your own weakness for those who are looking to you to keep them strong.

My Experience And Overcoming ‘A Desperate Place’

I recalled having to be strong for my children and my husband, when deep within I was tearing up on the inside. I became angry with life. Why not? That’s because in the darkness of the night, nature took its course and by way of the storm’s longitude and latitude over the island of  St. Kitts it took everything my family and I had worked hard to build over the years. I am not using my example to make light of the situation in the Philippines or anywhere else for that matter. But like so many there, we became statistics, counted in the number, we too were left homeless with no where to go. So many questions emerged – Why me? Why us?

Yet now, I concede to say that God was, He is and forever will be greater than our greatest problems and even the greatest storms. Regardless of what today may bring, or the trouble that you face, He is stronger than anything in life. Therefore, I implore you to be confident!

• Pray to God – without ceasing, direct your prayers to Him. Your hope is girded and strengthened the more you pray
• Trust in God – it is while trusting in Him, you can see the magnitude of His omnipotence
• Look for God – it is in your difficult or desperate place you discover just what He is doing in and through you. 
• Have faith in God – your faith has a unique set of fingerprints and footprints that gives you the preview of what the future holds for you. 

The shadow of God’s all prevailing divine presence guarantees that His power can turn even the worst situation into something good. It’s times like these, you build resilience and tenacity! Like so many others who have gone through, yet lived to come out of their difficult and desperate place, you too have the power of choice within you to refuse being a statistic and becoming a survivor who conquered it all!

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