It seems that with the passing of years our storms only get ‘bigger and badder.’
I served with the National Guard as a member of a 35,000 man (and woman) military mission to serve the people of Homestead and surrounding areas; after the advent of Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Andrew was, as scientists determined later, a Category 5 storm of, in terms of geographic size, relatively small proportions. And yet, the damage it inflicted was just ‘off the scale.’
Approximately 65,000 homes and businesses destroyed. Another 125,000 severely damaged. 25 billion dollars in damage.
Something under a hundred people killed.
And having lived and served in that area of Florida for 40 days, I thought I had seen just about everything that nature could ‘offer.’
However, thirteen years later, almost to the day, Hurricane Katrina, another Category 5 hurricane, unleashed its fury on New Orleans. Perhaps three quarter of a million homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed. Over a hundred billion dollars in damage. As many as 2,000 citizens of Louisiana died in the tempest.
Then there was Hurricane Harvey. In the past few weeks he did his worst in Houston, Texas and its environs. A quarter million homes and businesses damaged or destroyed. Approximately 200 billion in damage. Perhaps a hundred people succumbed to this storm.
And now Irma
She has already unleashed the most horrendous damage on the islands of the Caribbean; with one island experiencing the loss of 95 percent of its structures. And worst yet, another storm, Hurricane Jose, is expected to follow a similar pathway across the islands.
Pt. 2
Here in the Tampa Bay area we are anxiously waiting for Hurricane Irma to ‘do its thing,’ and it seems we won’t have long to wait, as it is due to overtake our section of the state in the next 24 hours.
We had thought about evacuating to a relative’s home in south Georgia, until the hurricane shifted its projected path, and it appeared we might only experience Category 2 winds. As a result, we decided to ‘shelter in place.’ And then, and then the awful thing shifted its unholy self once again. And now, at this late date, we are expecting winds hovering around 125 mph, and we’re here for the duration.
As a believer, I have seen any number of unique posts on social media with what I would refer to as left, right and between religious perspectives related to the storm, and its ultimate fate.
What God should do. What God shouldn’t do. What He should allow. What He should not allow. The prerogatives we have as believers to curse the storm and cause it to dissipate. A spiritual resignation that God’s will be done. And, of course, in the aftermath of any storm those who speak about God’s loving mercies to His children, and how that He was gracious to spare their lives from almost certain death. Others, however, who allude to their prayers having been ignored by the God who has claimed to be mindful of the health and safety of His own creation.
Any number of religious persuasions and considerations at work prior to, during and after a storm of this magnitude.
And without philosophizing too much, or taking up all that much space, in all of it if you or I live to be a hundred, we are only here for a season, and ultimately, and more importantly, while we have been commanded to pray, God’s will or, at least, His allowance in the matter will always be accomplished.
It is a fearsome thing to be on the receiving end of something over which one has little or no control, and to attempt to arrive at a conclusion which will be ‘best for the most’ over those whom God has placed in one’s personal jurisdiction. This is where I find myself today. Whether to stay. Whether to go. Whether to shelter in place. Whether to seek shelter elsewhere. I love my family and I realize that the decisions I am making today could, by the time this weekend has ended, offer rather profound results.
Afterward
In the end, I think we are left with the musing of a fictional little boy from Charles Dicken’s, “A Christmas Carol.”
“God bless us everyone.”
I’ll see you on the other side of the storm.
(Mc)Donald's Daily Diary. Vol. 67. By William McDonald, PhD. Copyright pending.
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