Living in Texas this summer has certainly NOT (as in HOT) brought the loveliness of rain-fed, colorful, flowering growth. As you know from news headlines, we have been scorched by fires with an incredibly horrendous outcome – loss of lives, loss of over 1,300 homes from just one of the 176 fires, loss of a beautiful Loblolly pine forest, and so much more.
The East Coast is writhing in floods after Hurricanes Irene and Lee. Tropical Storm Maria is a possible threat to the East Coast, Tropical Storm Nate to Mexico.
Missouri and Oklahoma were twisted and twirled by tornados. Japan lost so very much in the terrible earthquake/tsunami, nuclear disaster earlier this year. Deep snows and torrential rains in the Midwest and Eastern USA made “disaster area” a common phrase. Death, illness, divorce all bring sorrow. Family division, foreclosures, layoffs from job, being fired, debt accumulation storms certainly stir up any calm seas we may have experienced.
What about September 11, 2001? The tenth anniversary? I pray for this day, that we shall not cower in fear, but stand in faith before our God, with our God, under His wings of protection. We are to remember the many who lived through this horrific day, those who died caught in the towers, those who died while rescuing the many. I pray that this nation would stand again as we did right after 9-11, united and able and willing to pray. I pray that we would be a nation “under God”...truly and faithfully.
I pray for our military as they are on the front lines every day in terrible wars, conditions that are so hard and awful. I pray for the families of those who are deployed, who are raising families with the other parent in harm’s way every day and night. My prayers are lifted for those veterans who are living with painful, war-inflicted memories and nightmares, others with loss of limbs, veterans who fought in the VietNam War who are just now receiving a “thank you“ and with so many veterans living on the streets, 1,000s, 10s of thousands have died in war upon war upon war in the name of freedom.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? Psalm 22:1
So I ask God to hear my cry (of course, after my “why?”).
From His temple He heard my voice,
and my cry to Him reached His ears. Psalm 18:6
I care because He cares. I love because He loved me first. I honor because He is honorable and to be respected. I am constantly learning to be patient for He is patient. He wants each and every one of us to be in His family. So as circumstances, human sinfulness, anger, and retaliation abound in this world, God’s love never changes. He calls us to Him.
In the midst of the storms, God brings flowers, colors, rainbows to remind us that He is God, that He created this world. He created us. He designed all. He knows all. He loves us and has never stopped. It is we who walk away from the One Who is, from the One Who loves unconditionally. Yes, there will be discipline for our wayward ways, for our sinfulness, for causing anger to God.
For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:11
We may not know “why?” until we meet Him face-to-face.
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor
height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to
separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:37-39
LORD, I remember the day John F. Kennedy was killed. I remember September 11, 2001. I remember the day my Daddy died. Oh, how I asked “Why?” especially as a twelve year old when Daddy died. I remember many other storms in my life. But what I remember most is the day I became Yours, LORD. I stood under the umbrella and held the beautiful bouquet of love and acceptance in my heart…from You LORD. That day was July 17, 1993. No matter what storm may have fallen upon me that day, I have forgotten it for Your love far outweighs any disaster.
In this you rejoice, though now for a little
while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that
the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that
perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise
and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though
you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see him, you
believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled
with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your
souls. 1 Peter 1:6-9
We may not know nor understand the “why?” But we will always know that our God is faithful and true.
God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:9
Amen.
“Blooming in the Rain” graphic: DryIcons.com – Free Licensure
photo: satellite photo from Weather Underground, 9/9/11
Collage of 9-11-2001 photos: Source: Wikimedia Commons
Derivative work of the following:
- File:WTC smoking on 9-11.jpeg by Michael Foran on Flickr
- File:DN-SD-03-11451.JPEG by the United State Navy
- File:UA Flight 175 hits WTC south tower 9-11 edit.jpeg by TheMachineStops on Flickr
- File:WTC-Fireman requests 10 more colleagesa.jpg by the US Government
- File:Flight93Engine.jpg by the US Government
- File:Video2 flight77 pentagon.png by the United States Department of Defense
- This complete file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported VietNam War Memorial/Washington, D.C.: License: CC-BY-SA 3.0 | By: Lorax | Source: link
Being Woven 
