This is a wake up call, people be ready as God in His perfect timing commands us to turn our faces to Him! If we do this, He promises to heal our land. Who would choose otherwise? Each direction you turn, crisis and instability can be found. The Cat-4, unpredictable beast named Harvey, belted his rath over miles of Southeast Texas coastline. Rockport – Port Aransas – Galveston – Houston – Beaumont – Port Arthur – then crossing the border into Louisiana. Twenty seven trillion gallons of water was dumped on the state of Texas. What does that look like? Aside from containing twelve zeros, it looked like complete devastation for this heavily populated metropolitan oil and gas town.
I’ve lived most of my life within a few miles of the southeast Texas coast. I love the ocean and its massive beaches on a sunny afternoon. On occasion, I’ve observed its mysterious, angry and treacherous waves, even hurricanes but nothing like Harvey. So much loss gave way to the sea as the grey clouds dropped an ocean of its own magnitude upon the land that was home to so many. During the night storm as Harvey made landfall, I had never prayed so hard as I did for its passing. Deafening claps of thunder in the night shook our homes as we griped our pillows and each other, too scared to close our eyes for fear they may not reopen. In these few days, 51.88 inches of rain fell on the great city, which is the region’s 7-month average, leaving the city underwater and in ruins. The storm quickly displaced 34,575 people who were forced into crowded shelters. Harvey took 35 human lives in and around Houston, the lives of many beloved pets, horses, and anything else with breath in his path. Many clung to life in the aftermath. For five days it rained, but then came dawn bringing the brightest sun in her most beautiful clear blue sky.
Just 7 days prior to Harvey’s destructive path, August 21, 2017, the entire country looked to the sky as a beautiful solar eclipse made the trek across the United States. How do these two conflicting events share the same sky? Simultaneously, in the small town of Crosby, Texas, there were threats of multiple chemical explosions while Harvey pounded the neighboring cities. Runaway wildfires were out of control in California and Montana destroying many national landmarks. Within the same week, torrential floods killed thousands in Bangladesh, India. A 7-yr old girl lives there whom I sponsor and unfortunately, have not been able to get information on her status. War in Iraq began in 2003 and is in the 14th year. With such devastation, economical loss always follows, as well as financial disaster for many families and businesses. Our world is in crisis and as I look into the faces, I see the desperate need for hope. A hope in something or SOMEONE with a permanent effect, the power to restore and revive, and the ability to provide rest for such weary souls. Our world needs God. From one extreme to another, we are left breathless, either from her sheer beauty or from the effort to stay alive.
God, you are Holy. Magnificent. Powerful. We need you. Be with us as we unite and pick up the pieces of brokenness in this wake of heartbreak and devastation.
Sand, Salt and Inspiration 