Serving Under Two Crosses...

I am a volunteer with the Red Cross. I have been a volunteer for almost two years and am excited about being a volunteer because I love helping people especially during times when they are facing a disaster.

During a major crisis, the Red Cross can be depended upon to bring emotional support as well as needed supplies. And bring it as immediately as humanly possible. Our goal is to make sure you have food and water and a warm place to stay as well as needed medical treatment. Our volunteers receive training because we have found the more you are prepared for any situation, the less fear you will experience when a disaster actually occurs.

At the present my job is recruiting new volunteers and then making sure they get the training required as a new volunteer. And we want to match the volunteer up with the area they want to serve in. Some of our volunteers want to go out in the middle of the night to be with those who have just experienced a devastating fire. Others want to drive our Emergency Response Vehicle and help pass out food during a National disaster such as hurricanes and tornadoes. Others want to help set up cots or cook in a shelter. But wherever we serve individually, we all see ourselves as one big family and we look out for one another. We share each other’s strengths and we share each other’s weaknesses. Our goal is to have a team of volunteers that will be able to keep their cool and actually be a plus when everything around them is falling apart. They are trained and confident in how to proceed when a disaster strikes and they are proud to be serving under the emblem of the Red Cross.

I find it interesting that I am working under the emblem of a cross. As Christians, we too serve under an emblem of a cross. In the natural, my heart’s desire is to see everyone become a child of God and come under the covering of His safety. During the days to come, I believe we will face many disasters and in the natural, my concern is with how firm my Christian friends will be able to stand. Will they trust God and not fall apart when hard times strike or will they find their faith and trust in God is not strong enough to endure the days ahead? Will they be part of the problem or a part of the solution? I believe we will see those who do not know God in a state of panic in the days ahead. I think it is important that all Christians stop and take a good look at their relationship with God now. Are you familiar with His voice directing you in your everyday life even now? Will you be one in the days ahead that is walking with a sense of peace even in the midst of chaos because you have a personal relationship with and know the One who is the author of Peace? Will your faith in God be immoveable and your trust in Him be unshakeable? Will others be drawn to you because of the peace they see in you? Now’s the time to be asking yourself these questions.

As a Christian, our training comes from spending time in the Word. We too need to learn the policies and procedures needed in our Christian walk. Just as we practice in the natural before a disaster occurs, we need to learn to hear the voice of God now in times of peace so we will recognize His voice directing us during times of crisis. In the middle of a disaster is not the time to realize you are unprepared!

The Red Cross does not discriminate in any way and we help everyone the same. God too offers salvation to everyone. As a Red Cross volunteer, it is important to know who the Red Cross is and what they provide just as it is important to know who you are in Christ and the provisions that God has made for you. As a child of God we may go through the same hard times as everyone else, but our trust will not be in our own strength or in our physical assets. Our trust will be in God our Father.

I sometimes think the Red Cross is doing the work of the church because the church is too busy doing other things. But I also believe in the days ahead that we will face calamities of a magnitude too big for the Red Cross to be able to handle. And then maybe the Church on this earth will stand up and take their place. I am proud to be a member of The Red Cross and also proud to be a member of the Body of Christ on this earth.