25 APR 09: The Boy in the Bubble
(BLOGGER'S NOTE: You may find the following item humorous, serious, or a little of both - but we offer these thoughts from time to time, as we keep a seventh-day Sabbath.)
The warning siren sounded, and the meteorologist on TV said it was time to head to "that safe place." The last several months have proven one thing - that safe place is no longer your retirement savings plan.
But the place where I live has no basement, and is set up so there isn't even that recommended "interior hallway." So I knelt down next to a metal wall heater in the living room, facing the TV set. If a fundamentalist pastor had come to the door at that moment, he might have convicted me of idol-worship - even if the "idol" was a color radar screen.
Then the news anchor mentioned early reports of a tornado hitting Valley Lanes in Phenix City -- and that didn't seem right. I live within two miles of that bowling center, and it wasn't even raining. If sirens hadn't sounded, I might have gone to bed and decided the "slight risk" mentioned Saturday night was right all along.
Then the news team left the air to take cover. There's now scary YouTube video of why they sought shelter. Yet I was left with nothing but the radar sweeping around. Things suddenly were quiet - almost TOO quiet. No noticeable rain. Hardly any wind. Not even the sound of lightning. Maybe it was a surprise hurricane, and I was in the eye of it?!
A look at the TV radar showed plenty of rain and storms across Columbus - but the screen was clear in my neighborhood. If I didn't know better, I might have thought those 60 new police officers had scared the storms away from downtown.
Then came a call to go on emergency duty - and it rained a little as I hurried to the car. Only as I started driving north toward downtown did I start to see trouble. A couple of small limbs could be driven over, but what was that thing knocked down next to the Springer Opera House? For once, people knew better than to blame the "ghost of the Springer."
I apparently drove over tornado damage on my way to work, and never realized it. Lights were out along 11th Street, 13th Street and Veterans Parkway. For once I longed for a car with those ultra-bright headlights - which for once might have made other drivers think I'm a rap star.
Columbus Police stopped me at 13th and 13th, explaining trees were down in the Lakebottom area. So I circled back to Tenth Avenue via 14th Street, went south to 11th Street, and went up Wynnton Road from there. I didn't see much damage on that route. And there weren't many cars, so I could drive slowly in the passing lane of traffic without upsetting anyone.
The only "damage" I received from last Sunday night's storm was a couple of brief power outages. One of them turned off my computer, but I have a backup power cord for moments like that. And I didn't lose any parts of Monday's blog entry, because I was saving my work often. "Jesus saves," so why shouldn't I?
Only about five blocks from my home, downtown Columbus buildings had tornado damage. Yet I was spared, and I've been thankful to God all week for that. It's as if God inflated some kind of giant dome around my neighborhood to protect it. Now if we can figure out how to arrange that on Leadoff Classic weekend....
Do I deserve God's protection, because I believe in Jesus or attend a certain church? Absolutely not. Two years ago, a couple attending the same association as mine died when a tornado struck their home in the Oklahoma panhandle. The "tornado chasers" who followed it sadly sound more interested in the tornado's shape than the people in its path.
I'm thankful for God's protection when it comes. Several verses in the Psalms describe God as a "shield." Psalm 84:11 even calls Him "a sun and shield" - although Southerners admittedly are more likely to thank God for sun in January than in July.
Yet Hebrews 11 reminds me believers also sometimes go through trials and tragedies. God can allow rough moments to come, but He's also merciful enough to end those moments when the time is right. That takes faith and trust in God. The atheist is left to grit his teeth, and somehow blame the words "In God We Trust" on our money.
As I started writing this Friday morning, WYFK-FM played an orchestral version of a tune some know by these words: "Miracles, miracles, that's what life's about. Most of you must agree if you've thought it out." For me, the past week included a miracle. May you be thankful for yours. And may you follow Psalm 119:114 - making God your "hiding place and shield." There's ultimately no safer place to be.
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