Bad Weather, Kittens, and Other Hazards of Life

During the later part of the summer of 2013, I found m self !orr ing more than usual" # num$er of oung people in our %ommunit had died !ithin a short period of time" #n un%le of mine and a %ousin !ere $oth diagnosed !ith ad&an%ed %an%er" 'ome !or( on our ne! %hur%h $uilding had $egun, onl to $e destro ed in a $ad !ind storm )ma $e a tornado*+" , ounger daughter !as learning to dri&e" 'he !as a good dri&er for a $eginner, $ut I !as s%ared and feeling so &er &ulnera$le" #nd an-ious. /n%ouraging others 0 it1s !hat I do, a $ig part of !ho I am" 2et, I go through phases m self !here I feel li(e I1m dro!ning in !orr . Where is ,2 %ourage** I !as !orr ing a lot more than usual a$out the safet of m %hildren" I !as !orr ing a$out the a$andoned (ittens !e had found in the alle , !ondering ho! !e !ould (eep them safe !hile the other pets !ere ad3usting to their presen%e" #nd a%tuall , one of them did end up dead, !hen the !ere tin and defenseless and m daughter !as $ottle feeding them" 4he loo(ed more li(e rodents than (ittens" But m daughter had %hosen her fa&orite, the one she !as going to (eep, the one I found dead on the li&ing room %arpet !hen I %ame home for lun%h one da "

I had to tell m daughter and she %ried for t!o da s" 'he said she !ould pro$a$l (eep one of the other gra ones, $ut it too( a long time $efore she made another %hoi%e or ga&e her ne! %hoi%e a name" I thought a$out ho! ma(ing a %hoi%e and gi&ing something a name intensifies our atta%hment" 4hat reminded me of &erses from the Bi$le that tal( a$out 5od %hoosing us and %alling us $ name" #nd in the midst of the fear and !orr , there !as something in me that %onne%ted !ith a deeper understanding of 5od1s lo&e" But mostl , I !as still feeling !orried and an-ious" I !ondered !h !e had so man pets an !a !hen the %aused so mu%h stress" , mind %ontinued tra&eling !ith that train of thought for a $it" Wh e&en ha&e %hildren* Wh ha&e relationships, friendships, possessions* #nd !h should !e tr to go pla%es and do things !hen it is safer to 3ust sta home* But then I remem$ered some things I had heard on the radio %on%erning &arious ne! studies and su%h" It turns out it reall is not possi$le to prote%t oursel&es from the dangers and hurts of this life $ isolating, sitting alone in our homes, refusing to get atta%hed to an one or an thing" Loneliness is $ad for our health, the studies %onfirmed" #nd e&en sitting too mu%h puts us at ris( for all sorts of life threatening illnesses" 'till, that summer %ontinued on" #nd I !orried a$out the drought" I planned m e&enings around !atering m la!n and garden" #s the da s gre! shorter, I !ould finish the last of the !atering in the dar(" It almost ne&er rained" I ga&e up hoping for rain" 4he !eather fore%asts !ould mention minimal %han%es of rain or 6thunderstorms7" 'ometimes the s( !ould gro! dar(, e&en offering a fe! tin drops of !ater on%e in a!hile" #nd sometimes !e !ould ha&e an a%tual thunderstorm8 and there !ould $e thunder" But still no rain" #nd as #ugust faded into 'eptem$er, the da s !ere sunn and &er , &er hot" 'eptem$er 9th 0 'unda " In :hildren1s :hur%h, the %hildren made large %olorful dra!ings !ith !ater%olor mar(ers depi%ting the %reation stor " 4here !ere three dra!ings, ea%h a group pro3e%t" One of the %hildren as(ed !hat I !as going to do !ith them" I suppose the !ould ha&e gotten stashed a!a in a %orner some!here and forgotten if the ;uestion !ould not ha&e $een as(ed" But the ans!er that %ame to me !as that I !ould tape them to the ne! %hur%h !alls" Our ne! %hur%h !as loo(ing good and mu%h progress had $een made sin%e that set$a%( %aused $ the !ind storm" We had all $een in&ited to !rite s%ripture on the !alls, s%ripture that !ould surround us inside the !alls, unseen after the $uilding !as finished"

4he %hildren1s dra!ings ea%h in%luded the &er first &erse of the Bi$le" 6In the $eginning 5od %reated the hea&ens and the earth"7 But the inside $eams !ere too %lose together for the large dra!ings to fit $et!een" 'o I taped them to the outside !all" <ain !as in the fore%ast for the !ee(, !ith de%ent num$ers 0 not a 10= %han%e or a 20= %han%e, $ut >0= or e&en ?0=" 4he thought %ame to me that the dra!ings, pla%ed on the outside !all !ere li(e an offering to 5od" I %ould pi%ture the mu%h needed rain drops landing on the dra!ings, the $right %olors $lending, melting, dripping do!n the paper onto the $are pl !ood" )'till, I didn1t $elie&e it !as reall going to rain.+ 4he rain did %ome, though. ,ost definitel it did. It nurtured our dr ground and (ept on %oming. It filled up our ri&ers that had $e%ome tin streams" Our ri&ers s!elled up o&er their $an(s, %rashing through $ridges, spilling out into %it streets, %arr ing a!a roads and %ars and homes and people. # !hole ear1s !orth of rain in 3 da s, a ne!s stor said" 4!o ears of drought ended !ithin those fe! hours. @hone %alls. Aa%e$oo( messages. I1m o(a 8 are ou o(a * @eople tal(ed of 1B?> and of 1BC? and a$out ho! this !as the !orst flood in this area in a &er long time" #nd as the !ater tra&eled east, the !arnings %ame" 5et prepared. 'to%( up on drin(ing !ater and food. 4here !as time to gi&e some thought to priorities" If ou ha&e to e&a%uate, !hat !ill ou ta(e* 'eptem$er 1>th 0 'unda again, 3ust one !ee( later" Ho! ;ui%(l things %an %hange. @utting on m ma(eDup, I started %r ing 0 %r ing for the t!o teenagers I had read a$out last night, s!ept a!a and dro!ned" :r ing for those still missing and those fa%ing losses of all (inds" , o!n personal !orries $egan to seem so tri&ial" Where is 5od in the midst of all this* 'o man &oi%es offering so man different ans!ers" 'ome %r out !ith the &oi%es of the dis%iples 0 Lord, don1t ou %are that !e dro!n* ),ar( EF39+ 'ome !onder if the flood might $e 5od1s 3udgment on :olorado" Our politi%s, ma $e* We are so ;ui%( to do our o!n 3udging, thin(ing !e (no! !ho is most deser&ing of 5od1s !rath" We %ompare oursel&es to others and li(e to imagine !e are $etter someho!" I thought of a Bi$le passage our pastor has referred to re%entl in his sermons" 4o some !ho !ere %onfident of their o!n righteousness and loo(ed do!n on e&er $od else, Gesus told this para$leF 64!o men !ent up to the temple to pra , one a @harisee and the other a ta- %olle%tor" 4he @harisee stood up and pra ed a$out himselfF 15od, I than( ou that I am not li(e other men 0 ro$$ers, e&ildoers, adulterers 0 or e&en li(e this ta- %olle%tor" I fast t!i%e a !ee( and gi&e a tenth of all I get"1 But the ta- %olle%tor

stood at a distan%e" He !ould not e&en loo( up to hea&en, $ut $eat his $reast and said, 15od, ha&e mer% on me, a sinner"1 I tell ou that this man, rather than the other, !ent home 3ustified $efore 5od" Aor e&er one !ho e-alts himself !ill $e hum$led, and he !ho hum$les himself !ill $e e-alted"7 Lu(e 19FBD1E Hone of us is !orth " Our o!n righteousness, at $est, is as filth rags" )Isaiah ?EF?+ We %an1t impress 5od $ sho!ing Him ho! our filth rags are a $it less filth than someone else1s" Ho, all !e %an do is %r out 0 6Lord, ha&e mer% on me, a sinner.7 But, doesn1t that feel li(e freedom, in a !a * Be%ause, not onl are !e not %apa$le of impressing 5od !ith our o!n righteousness, $ut impressing 5od is not our $urden to $ear, our hea& %hore to perform" It seems to me that using a storm as an e-%use to 3udge others isn1t the right thing to do" But, as the rain )$oth the rain that $lesses and the rain that destro s+ falls on the 3ust and the un3ust ali(e ),atthe! >FE>+, ma $e a storm does gi&e good opportunit for so$er '/LADe-amination" 4here is something so a!eDinspiring a$out the tremendous po!er of nature. I see 5od in it and I am hum$led. I feel small and un!orth and %alled to repentan%e. Of %ourse !e !ant to see 5od as our lo&ing Aather, %lose and a%%essi$le8 and most definitel He is. But it seems !e ha&e lost sight of the po!er, ma3est , and holiness of 5od. We ha&e left this side of 5od $ehind as an oldDfashioned %on%ept" In an effort to fit 5od into our informal %ulture, !e ha&e thro!n out the a!e and the re&eren%e" 2et, our faith is so in%omplete and !ea( !ithout it" 4here is so mu%h more $eaut in the %omplete pi%ture. 4he stor of the @harisee and the ta- %olle%tor is an e-ample of this 6%omplete pi%ture7 of 5od" We ta(e note of the hum$le attitude that 5od re!ards, $ut then !e noti%e that, after the hum$ling, %omes the e-alting" When !e let go of our selfDrighteousness and $e%ome trul hum$le $efore 5od, !e $egin to understand ho! greatl !e are &alued. We are his %hildren, the sheep of his pasture" We read the !ords of Gesus in passages li(eF Lu(e 12F32 0 Do not $e afraid, little flo%(, for our Aather has $een pleased to gi&e ou the (ingdom" #nd Gohn 1EF1 0 Do not let our hearts $e trou$led" 4rust in 5od8 trust also in me" In m Aather1s house are man rooms8 if it !ere not so, I !ould ha&e told ou" I am going there to prepare a pla%e for ou" I !ill %ome $a%( and ta(e ou to $e !ith me that ou also ma $e !here I am" #nd Gohn 1EF19 0 I !ill not lea&e ou as orphans8 I !ill %ome to ou"

With this perspe%ti&e, the !orld and its dangers seems less frightening" #nd !hile some !ould see de&astation and traged as reasons to $elie&e that 5od is not good or %aring or e&en that there is no 5od at all, no order to the uni&erse, to me, that &ie!point feels intensel empt , hopeless, and lonel " :ertainl 5od does !ant us to &alue the $lessings He has pro&ided" But !hat if the $lessings of this life DD our possessions and e&en our lo&ed ones DD are !iped out in an instant* Ho! %an !e sur&i&e the loss and heal and mo&e for!ard if there is nothing more permanent, more real, than this !orld1s realit * I am in%luding no! a length ;uote from an essa I !rote se&eral ears agoF I !as reading from m regular dail de&otional $oo( one 'aturda not long ago and I remem$er feeling that 5od !anted me to go ahead and read the page for the ne-t da too" I resisted, of %ourse" 4hat1s the page for tomorro!, I thought" Wh !ould I read 'unda 1s sele%tion on 'aturda * But I did, and I read thisF Aor I am %on&in%ed that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor an po!ers, neither height nor depth, not an thing else in all %reation, !ill $e a$le to separate us from the lo&e of 5od that is in :hrist Gesus our Lord" )<omans 9F39D3B+ I %onne%ted !ith that passage in su%h a po!erful !a that da " It reminded me of a thought that had %ome to m mind, li(e a message from 5od, se&eral da s earlier" I thin( I must ha&e $een allo!ing some !orr to trou$le me8 pro$a$l I !as !orr ing a$out the safet of m %hildren or other lo&ed ones" 4he thought that %ame to me !as thisF 4o 5od, e&en death is irrele&ant" #nd, as it has al!a s $een !hen the messages %ome, I re%ei&ed, !ith those fe! simple !ords, a profound understanding of the depth of their meaning" When !e pra for prote%tion for a lo&ed one or for some other situation that seems to re;uire some spe%ifi% out%ome or 6ans!er7, our hope still allo!s for fear and !orr " We don1t (no! the future so !e don1t (no! that things !ill turn out the !a !e !ould prefer" #nd !hen ha&ing the preferred ans!er is something that is &er , &er important to us, our hope and our pra ers ha&e a (ind of franti% ;ualit to them" Be%ause our hope is not in 5od, $ut in our limited desires regarding ho! the %ir%umstan%es should turn out" :ir%umstan%es, I thin(, are something &er !ea( to put our hope in"

But if our hope is in 5od, there is no room for fear or !orr $e%ause, li(e the s%ripture sa s, HO4HIH5 %an separate us from 5od1s lo&e" 'o, if !e are pra ing for a lo&ed one, e&en if the die, that does not mean 5od has a$andoned them or failed to prote%t them, $e%ause not e&en death %an separate that person from 5od1s lo&e" 4he are safe in the Lo&e of 5od, regardless of the %ir%umstan%es. But, e&en as !e see( to a%hie&e that le&el of pea%e !here our hope is totall in 5od and no %ir%umstan%e %an sha(e us, 5od understands that !e aren1t there et" He understands that, to us, death is e-tremel rele&ant" 'o he is there !ith us e&er step of the !a , %omforting us and strengthening us in our pain, in our fear, and in our !orr " #nd !hen I read the passage from <omans, I felt that part of the purpose for me $eing led to read it earl !as that I needed to immediatel share the passage and m thoughts !ith someone !ho !as struggling, tr ing to %ome to terms !ith the sui%ide of a %lose friend" I understand that one part of the fear and !orr that :hristians, in parti%ular, e-perien%e related to the death of a lo&ed one is the %on%ern that ma $e someho! that lo&ed one did not meet the %riteria for a%%eptan%e $ 5od after death" ,a $e the didn1t $elie&e %orre%tl or ma $e their li&es didn1t %ontain the ne%essar ;uantit of righteousness" But all I (no! a$out that is that W/ are not the 3udge" Our responsi$ilit is to %are for the li&ing, to lo&e them, to $e o$edient to 5od in ho! !e %an ma(e a differen%e in the li&es of those he pla%es in our paths" But !e are no one1s 3udge" 4hat is not our $urden, not our %on%ern to !orr a$out" 'o, as 2011 $egins, people tal( a$out hope" Hope for a 6happ ne! ear7, a %han%e to start fresh" We %onne%t !ith a sin%ere hope that this ear !ill $e B/44/< someho! than the one that has 3ust passed" #nd if our hope is in %ir%umstan%es, then it is an an-ious, sha( , tentati&e hope" ,a $e this ear !ill $ring us $etter %ir%umstan%es and ma $e it !on1t" But if our hope is in 5od, then !e %an $e &er sure that our hope !ill not disappoint us" It1s li(e ha&ing a 100= guarantee of a $etter ear, a ear of pea%e and freedom from fear and !orr " Be%ause HO4HIH5, not death, not an thing, %an separate us from the Lo&e of 5od.. We are %on;uerors" We are ,O</ than %on;uerors.. )<omans 9F3C+ 4he ears %ontinue to pass" 4he ear 2011 !as li(e an other, I suppose, !ith some families e-perien%ing great traged , $ut no ma3or %hanges to the o&erall fun%tioning of the planet as a !hole" 4he ear that is nearl past )2013+ has $een mu%h !orse, glo$all

spea(ing" 'o mu%h has happened 3ust sin%e I started !riting this" ,ore de&astating storms all o&er the !orld, in%luding that t phoon in the @hilippines that so greatl o&ershado!ed the destru%tion of the :olorado flood from 'eptem$er" I don1t understand the purpose $ehind so &er mu%h suffering" But ma $e these 6$irth pains7 ),atthe! 2EF9+ are preparing us to let go of this !orld and fo%us more on the 6ne! hea&en and the ne! earth7 that the Bi$le tells us a$out" )<e&elation 21F1+ 5od %ontinues to %hange our %ir%umstan%es in response to pra er" 'ometimes" Other times, He pro&ides the strength !e need to get through !hate&er our diffi%ulties ma $e" 'o I %ontinue pra ing for the safet of m lo&ed ones" #nd I %ontinue pra ing for the faith to trust 5od more and to !orr less" #nd I %ontinue to pra that 5od !ould $ring something good out of e&er $ad thing and that He !ould use e&er %ir%umstan%e to dra! ea%h one of us %loser to Him" One 'unda , the pastor !as spea(ing of the pra er of Gesus in the 5arden of 5ethsemane" 6, Aather, if it is possi$le, ma this %up $e ta(en from me" 2et not as I !ill, $ut as ou !ill"7 ),atthe! 2?F3B+ #nd $efore the pastor1s message e&en %onfirmed m thoughts, the meaning %li%(ed !ith me" 2es. 4he pra er of Gesus is our e-ample. We ha&e our !ishes, our preferen%es, our desperate needs and desires" But !e !ill get the $est 6ans!ers7 and li&e the most fulfilled, 3o ful, !orr Dfree li&es, !hen !e su$mit our !hole sel&es into %omplian%e !ith 5od1s plan 0 the o&erall $ig pi%ture. De%em$er 9th 0 'unda again" 4he sno! softl falls as !e $egin a se%ond !ee( of i% , $itter %old !eather" What a $eautiful da . 4oda !as supposed to $e our last 'unda to meet at the hotel 0 a%%ording to our plan an !a " But no! it is loo(ing li(e the ne! %hur%h is not going to $e finished $ the 1>th after all" 'till, !e !ill plan to ha&e our :hristmas /&e %andlelight ser&i%e in the ne! $uilding, finished or not. 2es. Last :hristmas /&e, !e held our last ser&i%e in the old $uilding" Ho! fitting DD If our first ser&i%e in the ne! $uilding %ould $e :hristmas /&e this ear. He&ertheless, let 5od1s !ill $e done. We sang 6I 'urrender #ll7 0 'u%h a $eautiful old song. I surrender all 0 all the selfD a$sor$ed fears, !orries, plans. /&er thing..

<oseDI )Brenda :"+ De%em$er 2013