Stormy Seas

I have spent a good deal of my life close to water. As tropical storm Hanna approaches our area, I am reminded of storms past when life changed for many people. In the little town where my mother still lives, I remember watching with my father and uncles the wind across the dunes. It was several days after the worst of the storm and the gusts were still blowing us over. There were part of people's homes, toilets and dressers in the streams running down our streets. The landscape had changed permanently and I watched as my known world was different forever. That little town has never again since 1962 suffered the same level of severe storm. And yet the memory looms, with both fear and thrill,. the fear of uncontrollable destruction and the thrill of watching the miracle of powerful wind and wave. And surviving itself humbling thrill.

Most people who live by the water have an enormous respect for what the weather can do. They realize from experience and story that life is very fragile and a healthy caution is always the best plan. And yet they are drawn to that which can destroy them. We like to feel the wind on our faces, hear the gales as they rattle the panes and watch as the rigid becomes airborne. It is tough choice for some when evacuation comes to stay or to go. They understand the risk but are also intrigued by the spectacle.

So, here's to a day where we can chose the safe pasture over the thrill of the spectacle. Even with so many who love and care for us, it is easy to get thinking we will make it through this one. It is easy to continue risky behavior when we think we have something to prove. We might seek the risk, but the power of wind and water can overwhelm all too easily.

May we trust God to help us whether the storms that life dishes out. May we evacuate and board up when advised, not out of simple caution but out of love and respect for others. I have watched too many face the jaws of death, only to be swallowed up. God asks us to be brave in love for others, not in false heroic pride. May we take of the banner of love, which calls for us all to keep the most vulnerable safe, us included.