Monday, May 23, 2011

The Sign, The Sirens, The Helmet and Shield


That sign sums it up regarding the prophecy made recently about the end of the world.

On the other hand, that same day, hundreds of Missourians had to deal with another sign, the signs of tornados once again reeking chaos and havoc and disaster.

Forty-seven times tornados have touched lives in Missouri since New Year's Eve. Many have learned to heed the siren warnings.

Sadness is evident everywhere I go.

-Even to the dentist office this morning. As my dentist prepared to clean my teeth, he shared how his relatives had been in Joplin on their deck having a normal BBQ only to look up and see a tornado racing toward their home at 30 miles an hour.

They barely had time to throw themselves into the basement before their house was torn to shreds.

That night, crawling out of the rubble, they searched for their friends, friends of many years, friends since high school. They could not find their neighbors.

Such Sadness.

My dentist commented, "News doesn't mean much until it hits your own family. It is hard to know what to do with it."

Ironically my daughter's last memory verse for her school year is from Ephesians. God tells us how to deal with hard times, with Satan, with evil, with sadness, with life on this earth. We must put on the full armor of God and STAND FIRM. The helmet of salvation reminds us of God's love and ultimate plan for us as good and not evil.

My heart is with those in Joplin. I can not imagine their pain and suffering.

God can though.

He has been through it all.

He did it for us.

Join me, won't you, in praying for those grieving. Let's also pray for protection for those hurt and for all in the Midwest facing yet more storms today and the rest of this week.

For His Glory,
Gretchen

1 comment:

  1. Gretchen, it has been such a rough time for so many people and you have been on my heart as the storms keep going thru the St. Louis area. And today as I was driving home from Carbondale to Murphysboro, the skies were ominous as the sirens went off in Carbondale while I headed home. Off in the west I saw a funnel cloud dropping from the clouds then it went right back up. Right after that however, it started raining so hard people were pulling off the highway. I quickly called home and asked if there were tornado warnings - - no, they said, but get home as quickly as possible! You can only go so fast when you can't see the road... just as the rain settled down to a heavy downpo.ur, Tabby texted and said they were swimming out there. I called her and told her what was happening. She told me to get home quickly and get in the basement. We got off the phone, I got home... the rain had calmed down yet I missed a text from her. Saw it late this night... it was storming there. I'm hoping all of you are okay.

    I can't imagine being in Joplin with all that devastation and loss of life. My heart has gone out to them and all others being affected by all these storms. Got a quick text tonight from Mom in Michigan and they were under severe thunderstorm watches.

    But, back to your post - - He has been thru it all and I needed to be reminded of that for other reasons. Tabby reminded me of that not too long ago but it's hard for me to absorb that at times.. Thank you for your post tonight. It soothed my soul.

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