If you could rescue? Would you?

Blog Post by Wendy Kauffman

So yesterday Jeff and I spent the afternoon helping a lady who lives in the same small apartment/motel complex that we do. She has been living here since the end of September. I have had several points of contact with her and from the very beginning could tell that it would turn out to be an interesting story.

On Friday evening, she asked if we could drive her to her godmother's house so that she could get away from her husband. She has told us on many occasions about how he violently treats her and how she loves him and just does not know how to get away. They have 3 very beautiful children who do not live with them because of her illnesses and how she can't take care of them by herself. I don't know how much of everything she told us was true. I just know that she was very afraid of him and that usually  comes from a bad place.

So yesterday we loaded up her things and drove her to a place where we hope she will be safe. Jeff had to have a long talk with our kids about not saying anything to anybody about what we were doing. If they were asked they were told to say they had no idea where she was.

It really hit me last night as I was sitting outside on the patio talking on the phone. As I was sitting there, her husband pulled up in his car, walked into the office and talked with the manager for a bit. He came back out drove off and about 40 min later drove back up with another lady in his car. They got out and carried a bunch of her stuff into the apartment. My heart broke! I was mad, mad that we moved this lady out and here he was moving another lady in. It felt like we almost gave him what he wanted!

Then today, I remembered the story of Jonah! Sounds weird huh, but what I remembered was how Jonah did not want to go to Ninevah, not because he was afraid, but because Jonah knew the very nature of God. He knew he would go and tell the people they were wicked and God would have compassion on them and not wipe them from the face of the earth like Jonah wanted. Jonah wanted them to get what they deserved, like I find myself doing many times. Jonah got angry with God because He did not wipe them out. It says in Jonah 4:2
“Isn’t this what I said, LORD, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.

Then it hit me, who am I to question God. He did not only care for this lady that we helped yesterday. He cares for the husband that we rescued her from. It is God's nature to have compassion on them and not wipe them from the face of the earth. In my finite human thinking, this ticks me off a little bit, well probably more than just a little bit!  I want to feel like Jonah, I just want God to get rid of them or in this case him, BUT God loves the people he made, even the ones who are SO lost if life. Let's face it, I'd rather have a God who abounds in love and compassion. Where would I be if He weren't.

God is awfully good to put up with me thinking I can give Him a hand in running the world. There is so much I don't get about this world or even really get about God, but I know He knows every person who is suffering.

Last night I was mad that we may never see this lady again, and what we were left with was her husband, but today after remembering Jonah, I know God knows why!

If you could rescue? Would You?