Dear SCC & Friends,
…He caused the storm to be still, so that the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad because they were quiet; so He guided them to their desired haven. ~Psalm 107:29
Update #34
Fifty years ago this month, I was driving from Ft. Ord, Ca, to Army Airborne School at Ft. Benning, Ga. My Geometry teacher told me the shortest distance between two points was a straight line, and those were the days before GPS and cell phones. It was clear blue skies and stunning mountain vistas, when I unintentionally drove into a terrible blizzard in the Rockies at a place called “Rabbit Ears” Pass. I had near zero visibility and was on steep mountain switchbacks with 1,000 ft. drops. It was a complete “whiteout” for four hours. I’ll leave out the details, but I couldn’t escape it. When I finally got visibility on the open road, I thought I would survive my service in Viet Nam, because nothing could be more treacherous than being trapped off guard in a sports car, at 10,000 feet with no chains and wearing only a windbreaker. God watched over me even in my neutral spiritual state, but even then, I knew He had purpose in the storm. We can see a storm coming, can’t really stop it, but can battle through it. Ernest Hemingway said, “Everyone is a captain on a calm sea.” It’s when the sea rises, winds turn to a fierce gale, day turns to night, that we see our need for God. Storms are inevitable, unstoppable, unnerving and depending on the severity, show us how little control we really have. Storms do pass but are to serve as poignant reminders of our dependency and vulnerability before God…God is our refuge and strength, a very present (tangibly present) help in trouble. ~ Ps. 46:1 Selah…
COVID certainly hit like a storm, especially on our medical community. For them it’s been a war…for many of us it’s only been an inconvenience and distraction. The California firestorms have plagued our fire fighters and first responders, who have risked life and limb to save people and property. For many of us it’s just a news story, but to them it’s a war. Others have lost jobs and are battling financial and career issues, and some have tragically lost loved ones they hold dear. The truth is we tend to downplay storms until they touch us personally. Storms are here to stay, and they are not just about weather…We will encounter marriage and family storms, vocational storms, political storms, spiritual storms along with many unforeseen challenges that come our way. Whatever we face today, we can draw strength knowing that the Lord is with us every second of every minute, of every hour of every day for all eternity. Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. ~Matt. 28:20 Keep up the good work!
Blessed in the storm,
Kevin