Day 26

Rain bands from Rita are whipping through the area, dumping rain on everyone and their efforts to recover (if possible) from Katrina.

The levees broke in New Orleans, flooding it again. Searches for bodies or survivors had to stop because of Rita. The interstates are clogged again with people running from a hurricane’s fury. This is what Florida must have felt like last year.

As I read the news coverage and watch radar, (no cable or satellite yet where I’m at) I find myself having the same anxious thoughts and feelings that I did the morning we arrived in San Antonio, running from Katrina. We want to pray. But for what? For the storm to dissipate or at least to weaken? While the Lord can do miracles – He is the master of the wind and the waves – the question is, will He? For no destruction? Little chance in that, with the storm surge and winds. How does one pray in times like these? We know that people will perish; homes and businesses will be impacted to one degree or another and people’s lives will be changed. As Rita moves inland, will another coast soon have a similar landscape as that of the Mississippi Gulf Coast?

We trust manmade levees and sea walls, we trust manmade buildings, thinking we built them bigger and stronger, we trust our technology and communication capabilities. However, we find out that we are not as smart as we think we are and all that we can build can also fail. I am comforted by the fact that our Lord is unchanging. He has ordained a time for everything.

Ecclesiastes 3
A Time for Everything

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

In our lifetimes, we will experience each. Many have new meaning, as I read them today. A time to die, a time to tear down, a time to weep, a time to mourn, a time to search, a time to throw away…
a time is ordained for each and we here on the coast have moved through these times. As days turn to seasons and seasons to years, we can only remember that the Lord is sovereign and He should be our refuge in all times. May He grant us the wisdom, strength and peace we need each day, whatever it may bring.

Have a blessed weekend, take a day of rest and be sure to worship our Lord and Savior, giving thanks for His many blessings.

Grace & Peace