"Open the Door"

My husband Mac, an orthopedic surgeon, was glued to the news as the tragedies of the earthquake in Haiti unfolded--devastation, destruction, death. From the very first media report he kept saying, "I wish I could go"..."I need to be there"..."people are dying"..."I can help"...and then a resounding, "I've got to get to Haiti."

So I prayed, "Lord, if he's meant to go, open the door."

... phone calls, emails, texts, organization, tentative planning, coming together...

Mac woke me at 11:15 pm this Tuesday and said, "Chris, it's happening, I'm leaving tomorrow." Reality opened the floodgate of my heart, and the tears (of fear, of worry, of love) poured out. He told me he wanted to be someone that ran to the battle line, not away from it. I held my hero close, and prayed... "O God, bring him back to me."

Wednesday morning I woke the kids, Maggie(18), Bink(17), Davis(14), and Emmy (12), and told them the news of their Daddy's quick departure. We all met in the kitchen, speechless, but not emotionless; the air was thick with deep, deep love. Mac hugged each one--goodness, how they adore their daddy, and how he adores them. Bink called 30 minutes later on his way to school and asked pleadingly, "Daddy, is there any possible way I can go with you?".

I want to share a few verses from the chapter that our family just finished memorizing over the fall semester. Remember, God is always in front of us, preparing our hearts:

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth should change, and the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride ... the Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. (Psalm 46:1-3,7)

I must tell you, I've never loved my husband more than I do right now. I love his eagerness to leave all behind and then go "through the door" towards chaos and danger in order to help desperate people. I love seeing Christ in him. And I love that he knows and claims that God is his stronghold, both here in Brentwood, TN, and there in Haiti.

Right now, I pray that he has landed safely on the little air-strip in Jacmel, a city 30 miles south of Port au Prince; he will performing surgeries there at a medical site for a week. I also pray that he and Rick, his faithful assistant, will be the hands and feet of Christ to hundreds and hundreds of Haitians, giving them not only healing but also Hope.

And then, I will pray ... that God will open the door... and bring him back to me.