Tag Archives: Facing Life’s Challenges

Storms of Life

Eastertide

MIDWEST CITY, UNITED STATES: Homes outside the direct path of a tornado (top) remain intact while those in the path are destroyed in Midwest City, Ok, 05 April 1999, two days after tornadoes ripped through this area killing more than 40 people and injuring hundreds. AFP PHOTO Tannen MAURY (Photo credit should read TANNEN MAURY/AFP/Getty Images)

May 5, 2021

Scripture Reading: Psalm 98

O sing to the Lord a new song,
   for he has done marvelous things.
His right hand and his holy arm
   have gained him victory.
The Lord has made known his victory;
   he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
   to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
   the victory of our God. Psalm 98:1-3

The 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado was a large and exceptionally powerful F5 tornado in which the highest wind speeds ever measured globally were recorded at 301 ± 20 miles per hour (484 ± 32 km/h) by a Doppler on Wheels (DOW) radar*.

Living in Oklahoma for the bulk of my life, I am well acquainted with tornadoes. When I was a child, there were few reliable early warning systems. My dad would stand on the porch with eyes on the sky and his ear to the weather forecaster who was doing the best he or she could alert us about coming danger. Dad would at times turn to my mother and say, “Get the kids. We had better go to the cellar.” We were whisked away, often in the pouring rain and high winds, and huddle together in our cellar. Our hearing was our only measure of and all clear. Most nights, we would climb up the steps into gentle rain or a sky full of stars and the moon. That memory probably came to my mind because the anniversary of the May 3 Bridge Creek-Moore tornado has been all over the news. Thank God we do have better warning systems now. Even so, 36 people were killed in that tornado, and over 500 more were injured. Damage estimates exceeded a billion dollars.

Life during the COVID pandemic has been somewhat like huddling together in that cellar only with masks and no social distancing. Glimmers of hope that we are reaching herd immunity soon make me think we will climb those steps and appreciate a beautifying world again.  First, we must all do our part to get vaccinated and follow healthy practices until we get an all-clear. Second, we must teach what we learned through this experience and make the changes needed to ensure that such a pandemic never catches us off guard and unprepared again. We also must recognize the worth of every person in our society—from medical staff to janitors, researchers to cashiers as we work toward a world where everyone has enough to meet their basic needs, including quality, accessible, and affordable health care.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for your presence with us through the storms of life. Continue to guide us as we seek more and better ways to care for all your children.  Amen.

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Bridge_Creek%E2%80%93Moore_tornado

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

God’s Abiding Love

Eastertide
May 3, 2017

Scripture Reading: Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
   He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
   he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
   for his name’s sake.

 Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
   I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
   your rod and your staff—
   they comfort me. 

You prepare a table before me
   in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
   my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
   all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
   my whole life long.

I included the entire Psalm today because it just makes one feel good to read it. I live about half way between my church and another member’s home. She no longer drives and we were having a special service and wanted to go. The weather was horrid earlier that day. Torrential rains, winds gusting to 80 miles an hour, large hail. I was safely cocooned in my well heated and lit home while the storm ravaged about me. As I drove the six blocks south and two blocks east to pick my friend up, I saw large limbs broken from trees. The damage just got worse as I progressed. The stop lights were even off. My friend was awaiting me on her covered porch. She had no electricity. We turned back heading northwest toward the church passing through my relatively undamaged area to find limbs down on the other side. The electricity was now back on at the church.

I thought of the insulated lives many of us live amid discord and distress. The author, perhaps David, of Psalm 23 knew the transitory nature of life. The moments in green pastures by still waters must be cherished for we will at times walk through dark valleys and face enemies. God abides with us in it all. The street lights were working on our return trip.

Prayer: Thank you Lord for your loving presence in the good times and in the bad. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the new Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.