Massive Disasters

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Romans 8:38-39  Good News Translation

³⁸ For I am certain that nothing can separate us from his love: neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or powers, neither the present nor the future, ³⁹ neither the world above nor the world below—there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

When I booted my computer this morning, there was a horrific picture of the fuselage of a passenger jet lying upside down with smoke billowing from one end. The wings had been ripped off the plane, and the whole airfield was covered with snow.

This year has already had more than its shares of disasters. Sylvia and I have both contracted Covid and recovered—again. We have visited loved ones some of whom have suffered much worse, including heart attacks, mental breakdowns, and other major health problems—hey! We are in our ninth decade, and many of our loved ones are there, too. Many Americans succumb to death in this decade.

Unquenchable fires have ravaged great parts of Los Angeles. Fierce winter storms have flooded and frozen much of this nation. It seems like there have been more catastrophic plane crashes than usual. Thousands of people have been snatched off our streets or from their jobs by a vengeful and unsympathetic government and flown to some destination across the globe without any due course to law—and that’s America. Hundreds of government workers have been fired with no warning and left to flounder on their own. Internationally whole cities have been bombed out of existence. Those who have fled have nothing to return to.  

Are we headed into the prophet[2] Daniel’s “time of trouble such has never was since there was a nation”? I rejoice with St. Paul that no amount of disaster and trouble can separate us from the love of God, not even the devil himself!

Lord, thank You that nothing can separate us from You. All we have to do is to daily remind You, by reminding ourselves, of Your promise to keep us from being separated from You.

 

 

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[1] https://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/california-los-angeles-fire-pacific-palidades-la-evacuation-latest-news-wctv8656d

[2] Daniel 12: 1 (KJV)

Getting Away From It All

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Mark 6:31 King James Version

³¹ And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.

 

It’s been a week and month of busyness. A friend came over to have me help her with taxes. There’s been the usual Spanish and writing classes. I’ve battled a stubborn cough and cold, and at one point was coughing so badly I went down and got myself tested for Covid. The test turned out negative: after all I have been vaccinated and boosted and have some natural immunity from having the annoying disease last July. We’ve installed a new gas range and dishwasher. The sprinkler system sprung a leak that turned out to be more complicated than usual, so I had to dig it up and repair it and then repair the repair.

Julia and David came over one day, and we went out to Joshua Tree and took a test drive in our Ford F-150 4x4 down Berdoo Canyon in Joshua Tree National Park. It is a canyon running down from the 4,000-foot heights of Hidden Valley to the below sea level in the Coachella Valley. Drivers with four-wheel drive vehicles like to go up and down the bed of the canyon because it is really challenging. One driver described it as squirrely, possibly meaning “only a squirrel can possibly make it through there unscathed.” Travel was slow. We often got out of the pickup and walked out in front of it to lay out plans to make it through all the rocks without destroying the undercarriage or getting hopelessly hung up on some rocks.

Joshua Tree National Park has been one of those places where we can get away from it all. Often the climbs and hikes get me to the point where I forget all of the worries and despair of everyday life and think only of how to stay alive. In late winter and early spring, the plants often turn green and sport beautiful blossoms, defying the drought and extremes of temperature so common in the desert. At night the heavens are aglow with the myriads of stars that are always there but never visible in the wash of city lights. I cannot but remind myself of the grace of Jesus Christ in this inhospitably complex world we find ourselves in.

Do I succeed in actually getting away from it all? Did Christ and His disciples succeed in getting away from it all after they got in the boat and went to the desert place? Read the subsequent verses in Mark 6. The blessings are there in spite of it all.

Grant us, Lord, the desperately needed rest and grace we seek.

 

[1] https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/joshua-tree-berdoo-canyon-old-dale-brooklyn-mine-trip-report.150738/

[2] https://www.google.com/search?q=berdoo+canyon&rlz=1C1JZAP_enUS880US880&sxsrf=APq-WBuXUlW6VFDi2jh2a4Fi3xAQjMHyKQ:1649171223926&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjt_ebHmf32AhXVKEQIHe3hBXAQ_AUoAnoECAIQBA&biw=916&bih=639&dpr=1.25#imgrc=AHBM-kAzwzvOgM

Rejoice!

 

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Philippians 4:4

King James Version

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.

 For months, well over a year, we have been watching our church services online—virtually. When we participated in our liturgical service, we would record the pieces we did, and Pastor Devo would splice all the pieces together to make a nearly seamless service. On occasion some of the pieces would get shuffled or omitted, which we always took in good humor. I missed hearing the organ. I really missed the interaction with other believers.

Things have changed. Hurray! Rejoice! For the last few weeks, we have attended in the actual sanctuary. At the church and the governor’s, request, we have been wearing masks. This does make recognizing each other a bit difficult at times. But we do get to exchange pleasantries, and more importantly, we do get to actually chat to each other. Almost everyone is full of happiness that they are back in church. They have good news to share about their own accomplishments, their families’ activities, successful medical treatments, and the like. Rejoice!

There are, of course, the usual few for whom nothing has gone well. Their car is acting up: it needs new bakes, maybe a new transmission even. Their shirt-tail cousin lost his lease on his house, or she had a bad time with Covid, or he wants a hand-out, or she won’t leave but wants to continue leaching. Their health is playing havoc with them: the back-ache just won’t go away, or their cancer is still growing after two interminable sessions of chemo.

I can’t tell these poor souls to rejoice! I can rejoice because it isn’t happening to me. But what if it is indeed happening to me? Even then I can rejoice in the Lord! I have the Lord and His promises. I rejoice that He has saved me by His grace! I rejoice that I am looking forward to better things. I can rejoice that He is working things out for me.

Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice!

  

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[1] https://stmichaellivermore.com/blog/rejoice-midst-darkness

Attempt to Discouragement

 

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Colossians 3:2-3

Revised English Bible

Think about the things that are above, not the things that are on the earth, for you died and your life has been hidden with Christ in God,

 

In 2016 I survived West Nile Virus. It is generally fatal in people over 60, apparently more so than Coronavirus-19. It caused brain fever in me, and there are five weeks of which I remember nothing, except for a few very vivid hallucinations. I had friends whom it killed in fairly short order. There were many people around the world who were praying for my survival. To this day I don’t know why the Lord chose to let me live.

My urologist visited me twice while I was in hospital with WNV. I don’t remember the first visit. On the second visit I was very lucid. He told me, “When you are well, and up and about, you need to stop in and see me. We need to start treating you for recurrent prostate cancer.”

After he left me, I looked up and prayed, “Why Lord? Why didn’t you let me die while I was so sick with WNV? Why preserve me for chemo and other nasty treatments?” This is one prayer, “Why?” that the Lord has never stooped to answer, at least not for me! His answer to Paul, when he prayed for relief from his “thorn in the flesh,” was “My grace is sufficient for you.”[2] That has to suffice for me, too.

Sometimes I mention my experience to people who express interest. They almost invariably respond with something like, “Well, He must have something more He wants you to do!” Since He hasn’t spelled it out clearly enough for me to read it yet, it’s up to me to follow the preacher: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, or planning, or knowledge, or wisdom, in Sheol, where you are going.”[3]

In October during a Deep Calling project at my church, I decided to return to this blog series and published my blog of October 26. In November I started really working on my memoirs of our time at Ikizu in Tanzania in the late 1960s and early 1970s. About the same time I came down with very painful eye problems so bad I couldn’t even read the big “E” on the eye chart. It just might be that the enemy of all mankind was trying to discourage me. My eye sight is returning to normal, so I’ll pursue both the memoirs and this blog until I learn differently.

Thank You, Lord, for sparing me, and thank You for encouraging me to continue with my might until You do lay me in Sheol.

 

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[1] https://earnestwords.com/2011/03/01/glasses/

[2] 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 REB

[3] Ecclesiastes 9:10 REB