A couple weeks ago, when we were praying for Texas, and those in the path of Hurricane Harvey, my children asked me, “Mommy, why did God even create hurricanes?” It was one of those questions that causes most parents to stutter around until the children forget what they were asking; the kind of question that makes you wish you had all the answers. I am not the mom with all the answers. I don’t even pretend to be. I can’t even tell you the amount of times I say, “I don’t know,” to my children, daily. I don’t know a lot of things, and I couldn’t even pretend to know the science behind a hurricane, let alone such a loaded theological question.
This time was a little different. I did hesitate, but responded fairly confidently with, “God doesn’t create the storms.”
Folks, I am still wrapping my own brain around this response, but I continued with, “God doesn’t create them, but He did create a universe and an atmosphere in which they could be allowed.”
God created this entire universe. It is more complex than we can even comprehend. Many people think faith and science are two completely different things, but I believe God created science. Much like human beings, given the free will to make their own decisions, to create peace or chaos, He created an atmosphere which supports both beautiful natural phenomenons and natural disasters.
There are a lot of side dialogues that can evolve from this topic, and one of the many retorts might be, “Why would He allow them to occur at all? If He commands the seas, why wouldn’t He just turn these storms right back into the ocean?”
Real answer? I don’t know.
However, look around you. Watch your social media feeds. What do you see or hear most about during times of hardship? During times of difficulty? During times of tragedy?
I will tell you what I see. During a time when our country, arguably our whole world, is more divided than I have seen in my lifetime, I see people praying for one another. Instead of concern for others’ political opinions, I see concerns for their welfare and well-being. I see people generously giving of their homes, their hands, their time, their money, their food. For a brief, yet tumultuous moment, I see people putting aside their differences to help one another in times of need. I see unity instead of division. I see the news media covering stories of great courage and generosity. Isn’t it ironic, how it takes inexplicable tragedy, to get the media to shift to more positive stories about humankind? I see, that contrary to all that has been reported in recent events, humanity does have a great capacity for love and kindness! What would this world be like if we always treated people the way we treat them during catastrophic disasters?
What if we were always as kind, as generous, as courageous as we are during the storms?
Y’all, someone you know is always battling a storm. What would this world be like, if we always prayed for others as though their lives depended on it?
