Nature and Fury

Spring in the tornado alley part of the nation sometimes is a crapshoot. Yesterday was the day we went for broke and came up snake eyes.

The National Weather Service told us in time. But they couldn't tell us the magnitude of what was going to dump down upon us. The reality of it all is never something you can truly speak of because it simply isn't known.

Nature's fury is often spoken of as an aphorism. We tend to 'poo-poo' the reality of what nature can truly create when in complete fury. God is in charge of all aspects of our lives and when the elements rage around us, upon us and through us, He still has His hands upon us.

Yesterday through last night, storms ripped through Alabama like a sharp knife through rice paper. Homes destroyed, property lost, trees turned into so much kindling... and the lives - the lives of people lost to mortality through the violence of the elements gone wild.

I don't know the reasons for these kinds of storms.

I do know that I was scared out of my wits for my innocent son while we rode out a tornado in our van.

I know that I prayed with a fervency that my daily prayers often lack. Perhaps that has something to do with the elements raging... some of us don't talk WITH Our Father in Heaven. Instead, we tend to barter, bargain and bully our way through our prayers trying desperately to tell God what to do and how to do it so we can at last be snatched up and saved into His kingdom.

But yesterday, I prayed. Lacking elecutory skill and fancy verbiage, I prayed literally begging for the life of my son ... and, yes, myself. I prayed for my family members in harm's way. I prayed for the neighbors who likewise suffered the destruction I saw all around me and for all those nameless strangers who gave their life for a storm that they could never defend against.

When we finally arrived home safely, I prayed again thanking God for getting us home safely. I sat and hugged my sweet Jared, thankful for another day with him and his gentle smiling face.

Then, I hugged my dog, Gypsy, and inhaled the stinky fur that needs a bath.

I didn't care!! I was ALIVE to smell the stink and hug my wicked dog!

Gypsy HATES storms. They scare her and make her shake all over. I matched her tremble for tremble yesterday.

The sun is shining today but the reminder of the power and violent fury of nature remains.

I don't call it "mother" nature. No mother I know could produce this kind of horror.

We speak of the forces of nature as if they are human and caring. That usually happens on sunny, beach-like days. We talk about "mother nature gone wild" when things get ugly. But the truth is something different.

The God of nature is Divine and cares beyond mortal comprehension. When His Spirit is grieved, it withdraws from all that is wicked. I believe those are the times when the elements rage. Only God can calm the elements at that time.

I hope that everyone who has suffered loss of family and property feel the comforting arms of God around them now. I know he weeps with them.