Take Shelter — Carol McLeod Ministries | Find Joy in Your Everyday Life

I wish that I had met Angela Donadio about 20 years ago, but in the recent few years we have become fast friends! She is a woman that defies her circumstances with her strong and vibrant faith. However, let me tell you something about this amazing woman … we are polar opposites in too many ways to count! She climbs mountains … while I sit at home with a good book in front of a roaring fire. She travels to foreign continents and lives in tents … I go to Target and I buy things. However, in the ways that actually matter, we are twin sisters. She loves the Word, stands strongly on Biblical principles and loves to worship. She is a communicator and a woman whose faith has been tested in the fires of life and has come out as pure gold. Angela’s words, her heart and her love for Christ are my gift to you this week.

“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

“I’m so overwhelmed,” my voice cracked with emotion. I trudged through the phone conversation in a fog as the insurance adjuster deemed my car a total loss. Thankfully, my husband graciously picked up where my physical and emotional limitations left off.

Sometimes life pulls out in front of us when we least expect it. In February of 2020, ten seconds shifted every area of my life for months to come. As I made my way through a green light at 45 miles-per-hour, another driver failed to yield. Instinctively, my hand hit the horn and my foot hit the brake. The impact of the collision deployed my air bag, causing a severe concussion and injuries to both hands and wrists. The first few weeks unfolded with doctors’ visits and forms galore. X-rays on my wrists proved inconclusive, necessitating an MRI. My injured hand throbbed as they flattened it down inside of a clamp. My head pounded from a concussion-induced headache. My heart ached from a tumbled mix of unwelcome emotions… disappointment, frustration, fear. Sigh.

Tears fell amid whirl and bangs as I laid on my back and stared up at the ominous machine. I questioned why I was on this all-too-familiar road of recovery once again. God comforted my weary mind, body and spirit with the words of Psalm 91: “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Even though life is unpredictable, God’s character is unchanging. He is our Shelter. Our Refuge. Our Fortress. No matter what.

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I spent six weeks in a cast to stabilize my right, dominant hand and wrist, followed by invasive, reconstructive surgery on the left. I implemented new strategies from a neurologist and began the process of physical therapy to regain the use of my hand. As I type this last devotional for “Astounded,” I am still in the process of recovering. “-Ing.”

Is it a suffix? Prefix? Whatever it is, I’m struggl-ing with “ing.” It’s dangling on the end of that word, “recovering,” in place the much more pleasant, “recovered.”

I’m tired of staring at piano keys I can’t yet play. I’m drained from depending on others to drive. I’m weary from nagging headaches that slow my pace. Still, life is gradually returning to normal. I am keenly aware that for many who suffer an unexpected impact in life, normal never looks the same. Yet, difficult seasons serve as powerful teachers if we let them. They beckon us to be kinder to ourselves and to others. They ask us to sit with what we’re feeling under the Shelter of the Most High. In that sacred space, we surrender our bruised emotions to the God who is our Refuge.

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His Shelter is healing balm to a battered soul. Psalm 91:14-16 offer 8 reassuring promises to those who love and trust in the Lord: “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

He rescues us.

He protects us.

He answers us.

He is with us in trouble.

He delivers us.

He honors us.

He satisfies us with long life.

He shows us His salvation.

He leaves us astounded.

I add new scars to my collection, ones I can easily see on my hand and wrist. They, like the others, become remembrances, not of simply a dark season, but of the God who is our Refuge. He promises purpose out of pain. In any season, God is our safe place; His presence is always the reprieve we need. Take shelter under His goodness as you keep your eyes peeled for the miracle hidden in everyday moments. Because sometimes, when we least expect it, God breathes on a situation and leaves us astounded.

Astounded,

Angela Donadio

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Angela Donadio is an international speaker and writer, recording artist, mother and advocate for women, especially rural pastor’s wives and their children in Africa. She is the author of Finding Joy When Life is Out Of Focus: Philippians—Study for Joy-Thirsty Women and Fearless: Ordinary Women of the Bible who Dared to Do Extraordinary Things. As a women’s pastor and ordained minister, she serves alongside her husband, Dale, at a thriving church in Virginia. She shares her passion for ministry through her music, monthly blog and weekly podcast.

Her newest book Astounded is available October 1, 2020 at all retailers and online stores. Learn more about Angela at angeladonadio.com or follow her on Facebook and Instagram.