When Waters Rise

The last few weeks, our country's attention has focused on hurricanes and the incredible damage they do.  In both Texas and Florida, residents will be literally picking up the pieces of their lives for weeks and months to come.

A good friend of mine has been extremely fortunate, considering the flooding her home experienced.  Unlike many of her neighbors, she has a second floor on her home.  Not only was she and her dogs able to get to safety, she took in a few neighbors and their accompanying beasties.

While she rebuilds, her dogs have been transported up here to the kennel.  They are in for a nice long visit.  Tilly is thrilled.  They don't seem too upset.

Hurricanes are funny things.  You can see them coming, but no forecasting can predict exactly the path it will take.  Millions of people have been glued to the news, waiting to see if disaster would unfold, and if so, how bad would it be?  Even with improved technology, it's hard to say for sure what will happen, leaving residents and visitors wondering whether they should evacuate and if so, where would they go that is safe?

To me, life is like a hurricane.  You have a calendar in front of you, and most likely you'll live those days.  But you don't really know what's going to happen.  You can plan, and maybe your plan will unfold just as you hope.  Other times you can map out and organize every detail of your life, only to have it blown out of the water.  

I don't know about you, but I kind of like predictability.  However, I'm learning to embrace the waves more.  After all, it's lovely to look at the water and maybe even see what's below the surface.  But it can get dull, and waves can be spectacular.

There was this one time when Jesus took a nap in a boat with a bunch of his friends.  A huge storm kicked up and the waves were crashing over them.  Death loomed. Jesus' friends were freaking out and they woke him up.  I imagine Jesus wiping the crusties out of his eyes and wondering what all the fuss was about, staggering up the steps to see the storm and saying, "Enough of this - stop it!" (that would be my paraphrase) and it stopped.  

Jesus doesn't stop every natural and man made weather event, but His power is irrefutable.  When we face our personal disasters, He is nearby, wading through the deep waters with us.  Life can be messy, and picking up the debris isn't any fun.  But when we trust God, we can trade our ashes in for beauty and mourning in for blessing (Isaiah 61:3).  I don't know how He does it, but I know why.  He loves us and wants us to turn to Him.