Overcoming Tragedy

Scenes from the aftermath of Hurricane Helene are shocking, especially from areas previously thought immune to such, as in and near Asheville, North Carolina.

Why didn't the people in those areas leave before the rains fell and the rivers rose ever so rapidly? They were surely forewarned. But most likely, they too thought they were already in a safe place.

The lesson learned: Mother Nature is an awesome force, and her fury can be devastating. No place is safe. a river can rise more quickly than a human being can respond to adequately.

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A second lesson learned from Helene is that when dealing with the dire consequences of such an awesome force, we must be at our best, fully able to do the very best we can to survive under extremely trying circumstances. When we're smart, we survive.

But if we are not so smart, what then are we to do? Answer: we go to the best authorities available, we seek, and we follow their advice; the time for procrastination is long since passed.

But through it all, through every tragedy, we must pray hard for deliverance. In other words, we must practice the religion we profess.

Amen.