We Made it Through Hurricane Irene

Well, I know for a fact that we are fortunate, because we made it through a hurricane and an earthquake, both in the same week.

Hurricane Irene, much maligned on the news all week, gave the entire East Coast something to think about.

I thought about how much I love my family, how much I trust God when it's easy and how much I trust God when I have no control over the circumstances.

I thought about how we lost power for six days after Hurricane Isabel, and how much I hate being in the dark. I thought about looters and food spoilage and how to entertain the family without electricity.

I considered moving to another state, but it was a little late for that.

I thought about if we could still do school, if Jeff would have to work, and did we have enough food if the stores were all closed.

We came through the hurricane with no damage, little flooding, and no electricity loss.

I started thinking about other people. I thought about the half a million people in Maryland who lost power and the five million on the whole coast. That's a lot of people, I thought. I thought about those who lost their lives and what it meant to the people who loved them. I thought about material loss and the struggles with faith that might ensue.

I thought about what it meant to be "blessed." Was I blessed because I lost nothing? Were others less blessed because they had lost some, or much? What is the official church-y definition of blessed?

I decided the opposite of "blessed" is not un-blessed, or less blessed~it is "challenged."

God blesses us and he challenges us. He answers prayer ("Please keep us safe") and he lets us wait and he sometimes answers, No.

And though I lost nothing, I thought even if I had, I could sing with the hymnist, "It is Well."