The Coming Storm

There is a storm heading our way. A hurricane that has crossed the Caribbean and has passed through Cuba. Many lost their lives in Haiti. So many there are very poor and their meager shelter offered little protection from the storm. They are just ill-prepared. Sadness! The forecast map for where it will make landfall on the east coast of Florida has been all over the place, with many stating the obvious-- that the projection map looks like the scribbling of a toddler. There must be two dozen arches representing possible paths that the hurricane could follow. One map I saw has little hearts working their way through the scribbling, just for effect. Of course, they don't know. I don't care the cost of their fancy equipment, they are not God. That's one of the reasons I love weather. It is the absolute hand of God, and no man can claim otherwise. Overnight last night the projections were narrowed down, and the prediction is not a great one for us. It looks like Matthew could continue to gain strength over the Atlantic and make landfall unhindered on the coast not too very far from us. We live twenty-three miles from the ocean as the crow flies. So I woke up this morning with changed plans. The errands that I intended to run no longer seemed quite so important. It's time to prepare for the storm. Pam and Jim went off to work, so I was on my own. They will both be off at noon, and I will leave the heavy work for Jim. I am not new to hurricanes. We would get them in the Mid-Atlantic. So I know the basic rules of outdoor prep. If a strong, able-bodied person can pick it up and throw it, even just a few inches, then it has the potential of becoming thrown around in the wind of the hurricane. Makes sense, right? And so, as I work around the yard, alone with God and my thoughts (which may or may not be considered prayer...sometimes I'm not sure), I consider how nice it is to have a warning. So many times in the storms of life, there is no warning, or at least none that you acknowledge and take heed to. And then the shock of it all is part of the damage. But either way, I know where to run. I know in Whom my safety lies. Psalms 34:17-20 - "The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles." Nahum 1:7 - "The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him." And if either kind of storm should ever take my life, I want you to know that my safety was a sure thing, even in death. There is no fear there for me. I am safe in His arms and under His wing no matter what befalls me. And my song will evermore be-- Jesus lead me (safely) all the way!