Earl

One of my favorite songs from the old Baptist Church and the Church of God in Christ goes like this.  "There's a storm out over the ocean, and it's moving this a way.  If your soul's not anchored in Jesus, you will surely drift away."  Yes, there is a storm out in the Atlantic named Earl.  One of the things I can remember about growing up near the North Carolina Crystal Coast is hurricane season.  There have been plenty of hurricanes that have rocked our socks.  Let's see; there was Hugo, Andrew, Bertha, Fran and Floyd.  Fran and Floyd are the two most memorable storms. 

I was an undergraduate at NC State University when Hurricane Fran made landfall as far inland as Raleigh and Greensboro.  The weird thing about Fran was that she got stronger as she ripped through the coastal plains and inland areas of our state.  Floyd on the other hand, was Greenville's own Katrina.  The low lying areas of my hometown near East Carolina University and the Tar River were flooded for a long time.  Thank God that my mom's house is on high ground. 

Just as there are natural storms and disasters, how do we prepare for the storms of life?  For us, our life lesson storms are like storms back in the day before the radar and doppler 2000.  We just had a lighthouse  and our intuition.  We've known about Hurricanes Earl and Fiona for almost a week now.  But when the storms of life come at us, often times we may not have a week's notice.  Remember that you are in one of three places in relation to a storm.  You are about to enter a storm, in the storm or have just gotten out of a storm. 

What do you do in these storm pending scenarios?  If you are anticipating a storm, the only thing that you can do, is watch, wait and prepare.  If you are in the storm, just stand still and know that it will pass, and the sun will come out again.  If you've just gotten out of a storm, begin the rebuilding process, physical, mental and spiritual and thank God that you got over.  Batten down the hatches!  Wonder if they'll ever be a Hurricane Karsten?

Peace in the midst of your storm,
Karsten