As I listened to the news on Haiti a few nights ago, the excavation and rescue of an elderly woman who miraculously survived being buried in the earthquake rubble for 8 days touched me deeply. If I am not mistaken, she was singing and thanking God as they gently lowered her down on solid ground!
Was she actually singing and thanking God? I wondered if I heard that correctly. (My daughter confirmed that that was exactly what was reported!!!) As I reflected deeply, the voices and other sounds glaring from the TV quickly faded as I asked the Father what she was thinking all this time while she was under there? I wouldn’t doubt that her first few days were spent fervently praying to be rescued, but what happened after that? Did she curse God for not rescuing her and for appearing to abandon her? Or was there a possibility that through those agonizing and life threatening conditions as she thirsted for a drop of water and a morsel of food, she was visited by an angel or Jesus himself? I wonder and I continue to ask the Father…
This morning, I continued to press forward into Fr. Jacques Philippe’s book, “Searching for and Maintaining Peace”. I didn’t get very far. This time I only managed to get through 6 paragraphs! Imagine being brought to a halt by words inscribed before 2002! (the book has a 2002 copyright)
With your permission, let me quote what I have underlined…
“The essential truth that we wish to present and develop is the following: To permit the grace of God to act in us and to produce in us (with the cooperation, of course, of our will, our intelligence and our capabilities) all those ‘good works for which God prepared us beforehand, so that we might lead our lives in the performance of good works’ (Eph 2:10), it is of the greatest importance that we strive to acquire and maintain an interior peace, the peace of our hearts.”
“In order to understand this, we can use an image (without exaggerating, as we should always avoid doing in making comparisons); but one that can be illuminating. Consider the surface of a lake, above which the sun is shining. If the surface of the lake is peaceful and tranquil, the sun will be reflected in this lake; and the more peaceful the lake, the more perfectly will it be reflected. If, on the contrary, the surface of the lake is agitated, undulating, then the image of the sun can not be reflected in it.”
“It is a little bit like this with regard to our soul in relationship to God. The more our souls is peaceful and tranquil, the more God is reflected in it, the more His image expresses itself in us, the More His grace acts through us. (my highlight) On the other hand, if our soul is agitated and troubled, the grace of God is able to act only with much greater difficulty. (I stopped underlining here, but I will continue typing to finish the paragraph) All the good that we can do is a reflection of the Essential Good, which is God. The more our soul is peaceful, balanced and surrendered, the more this Good communicates itself to us and to others through us. ‘The Lord gives strength to His people, the Lord blesses His people with peace’ Scripture says (Psalm 29:11).”
Was that the answer to my question? I imagine the lady was frantic during the first few days, yelling and calling out for help while she clawed at the rubble around her, searching for a way out? I then imagine that as her energy levels dwindled and exhaustion and her faith in her ability to save herself wore thin, she finally gave in and called out to God to be with her…perhaps to bring tranquility to her soul so she could die in peace?
I would be overjoyed to learn what the lady went through during those 8 days. Perhaps the Father will move a reporter to do just that. Nevertheless, it becomes very clear to me that the Father has brought something good out of the destruction the enemy had planned for her life. Her faith, exemplified in her song of praise at the time of her rescue, encourages and strengthens mine. That is a true living testimony.
My thoughts now move to Joseph (the one who wore the coat of many colors) who was thrown into the empty well by his jealous brothers. If this “bad” didn’t happen, Joseph would not have been rescued and brought to Egypt where God would later use him to save many from the great famine in Egypt and its surroundings. Perhaps, similarly, this may be the reason why this lady was buried for 8 days? We may never know, but Scripture says…“God causes ALL things to work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.”
God bless,
Melissa – January 21, 2010