Finding God in Hurricane Maria

The day before Hurricane María struck Puerto Rico with a catastrophic and deadly force through our entire island, my wife Greta received a book from a good friend of hers. It was so important for her friend that Greta read that book during the post hurricane days that she went out of her way to drop off the book at our house just 12 hours before the hurricane was going to make landfall in Puerto Rico. The name of the book: “Left to Tell; Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust”.

In this book, the author Immaculée Ilibagiza tells us about her personal horrific story during the Rwandan Holocaust. During the genocide in her native Rwanda, more than a million people were killed in just over three months. Immaculée spent 91 days with seven other women hiding in a pastor's tiny bathroom, and yes, that was not a typo, ninety-one days in a tiny bathroom with seven more people without leaving that cramped space the entire time. She shares that God spared her life and all her horrendous experiences for the sole purpose to share her story believing all lives are interconnected and we can all learn from each other’s experiences.

I do not want to share much about the text as I would love everyone to read it, but one thing I learned from reading the book is the act of forgiveness. Despite everything that happened, her neighbors killing her family members, hearing voices outside the window of the tiny bathroom of people she was friends with calling out her name trying to find her and kill her, among much more, she found it in her heart to forgive everyone who was involved in such atrocities. I know, I could not believe it either, but as you read the book, you get to understand the reasons she chose to forgive and find the strength to move forward.

Which takes me to Hurricane María, the most catastrophic storm to hit Puerto Rico over a century. A lot of people have died and sadly many more will due to their living conditions after the hurricane, lack of medicines or proper care or even electricity for their oxygen machine. There is so much physical destruction all over the island but what matters most, is the effect it had on our Puerto Rican people. Just this past weekend, one of the cities I visited, Utuado, was so hard hit and had so many areas difficult to reach, that many times we had to wait for the Army corps to finish cleaning out a section of the road so we could go through. And as I face and reflect all this destruction, I wonder; where is God in Hurricane María?

I found God in my close friends who quickly reached out to check on each other.

I found God in my neighbors, who came to check how we were.

I found God in the many people that have come from the states, disrupting their daily life, to help us recover, for the sole reason that they care.

I found God in the supermarket cashier who gives me a smile despite everything she has gone through.

I found God in all those people I have helped, which in turn give me a smile and tell me not to worry, that we will come through.

I found God in all the Puerto Ricans that are helping our island recover.

I found God in my family, as I see their faces of satisfaction as they helped others that are not as fortunate as we are.

I found God in our friend who gave us that book, just before Hurricane María hit, in order to learn about Immaculée’s story and find God no matter what.

I found God in all my Facebook's friends who send words of support after each of my updates.

I found God in all the texts and emails I receive daily to see how I am doing.

I found God when he used Greta and me to find 5 seats for sick and elderly people leave for the states and improve their health.

I found God every time someone asks me, how can I help?

I found God in every single volunteer who makes a difference on the less fortunate.

You see, finding God is not that hard, you just have to open your eyes and know where to look. In these times where we can complain about things not been done correctly or whatever you want to criticize, I choose to find God in all the good that I see around me.

God is giving us the chance to show our true self, to show who we truly are. He is giving us the opportunity to get out of our comfort zone and show, first to ourselves, and then to the rest of the island, what each one of us is capable of achieving when doing nothing is not an alternative. Now, my question to you, where do you find God?