The Hope of Restoration

No one could have missed yet another example of the earth's ability to demolish and destroy this weekend as Hurricane Irene collided with the East Coast. Irene wreaked damage, but not as much as originally feared by its precarious trajectory across major East Coast cities.

What might have been overlooked about this natural disaster is that, as 2011’s tenth billion-dollar episode, it has tied the 2008 record for most billion-dollar disasters in one calendar year.

Courtesy of Our Amazing Planet, here are the others:

Upper Midwest flooding, summer: Melting of an above-average snowpack across the northern Rocky Mountains, combined with above-average precipitation, caused the Missouri and Souris rivers to swell beyond their banks across the Upper Midwest. An estimated 11,000 people were forced to evacuate Minot, N.D., due to the record high level of the Souris River. Numerous levees were breached along the Missouri River, flooding thousands of acres of farmland. The flooding, which is ongoing, has caused more than $2 billion in damages.

Mississippi River flooding, spring-summer: Persistent rainfall (nearly triple the normal precipitation amounts in the Ohio Valley), combined with melting snowpack, caused historical flooding along the Mississippi River and its tributaries. The region suffered $2 billion to $4 billion in losses. At least two people died.

Southern Plains/Southwest drought, heat wave and wildfires, spring-summer: Drought, heat waves, and wildfires scorched through Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, southern Kansas, western Arkansas and Louisiana this year. In Texas and Oklahoma, respectively, 75 percent and 63 percent of range and pasture conditions were classified as "very poor" as of mid-August. Wildfire fighting costs for the region are about $1 million per day. Well over $5 billion in damage has been done so far, with over 2,000 homes and structures lost.

Midwest/Southeast tornadoes, May 22-27: Central and southern states saw approximately 180 twisters and 177 deaths within a week . A tornado rated EF-5 on the tornado damage scale struck Joplin, Mo., resulting in at least 141 deaths, making it the deadliest single tornado to strike the United States since modern tornado record keeping began in 1950. The total losses were greater than $7 billion.

Southeast/Ohio Valley/Midwest tornadoes, April 25-30: This outbreak of tornadoes over central and southern states led to 327 deaths. Of those fatalities, 240 occurred in Alabama. The deadliest of the estimated 305 tornadoes in the outbreak was an EF-5 that hit northern Alabama, killing 78 people. Several major metropolitan areas were directly affected by strong tornadoes, including Tuscaloosa, Birmingham and Huntsville, Ala., and Chattanooga, Tenn. Total losses exceeded $9 billion.

Midwest/Southeast tornadoes, April 14-16: An outbreak over central and southern states produced an estimated 160 tornadoes. Despite the large overall number of tornadoes, few were classified as intense, with just 14 EF-3 --and no EF-4 or EF-5 -- tornadoes identified. Total losses were greater than $2 billion. Thirty-eight people died, 22 of them in North Carolina.

Southeast/Midwest tornadoes, April 8-11: An outbreak of tornadoes over central and southern states saw an estimated 59 tornadoes. Total losses were greater than $2.2 billion.

Midwest/Southeast tornadoes, April 4-5: An outbreak of tornadoes over central and southern states saw an estimated 46 tornadoes. Total losses were greater than $2.3 billion. Nine people died.

Groundhog Day blizzard, Jan 29-Feb 3: A large winter storm hit many central, eastern and northeastern states. Chicago was brought to a virtual standstill when 1 to 2 feet (0.3 to 0.6 meters) of snow fell across the city. Total losses were greater than $2 billion. The snowstorm killed 36 people.

You are not alone if that list raises an eyebrow. The intensity and sheer quantity of weather disasters in recent past has led more than one person to wonder if end times prophecies are slowly being fulfilled.

Is the world ending? Are we spiraling out of control? Is the earth hinging on the brink of absolute demolition?

No. We are neither left to our own devices, nor precariously hinging between death by earthquake or storm. The promise is not demolition, but restoration for those claiming redemption in Christ.

What we do know is that no one knows the day or hour except for the Father (Matthew 24:36) and the city that we are waiting for is worth the wait… For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come... A city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God (Hebrews 11&13).

Until then, we shouldn’t be surprised by calamities.  It's part of being fallen.  Of course this doesn't dismiss the pain of death and loss, but it does remind us that this is not all there is to life.  We are expectantly waiting for something more.  Thank God!  Romans explains that creation is subject to frustration at its present state, but it will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom that we as children of God have already tasted.

In the words of Nicole Unice:

God Made it Good.
Sin Made it Suffer.
Love Walked Among Us.
To live free, Believe–
Our Risen King Cometh!

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Romans 8:22-25

Funerals and Earthquakes

Without wanting to, I've been forced to reckon with the idea of death lately.  Last week, a beloved coworker tragically and suddenly lost her 21 year-old brother in a late night single car accident.  This week, an earthquake erupted for an uncomfortably local visit.

There is nothing that brings you face to face with your powerlessness like the prospect of death.  Our culture professes power over virtually everything else.  But death, no one escapes.  No one in their right mind can pretend to exert power over it.  We have the capability to control so many other things- disease, time, pregnancy, careers, location, colors, styles, tastes, textures, smells.  The list goes on and on.  You name it, we can choose it.  If we can't choose it, we can change it.  But not death. 

The chilling shock of death when we see it, experience it in those we love, and consider it as a probability for ourselves is just as much a shock to our controlling tendencies as it is to our expectations.  It's not just that we didn't see it coming, it's that we didn't choose it and we can't change it.  Our power is not useful here.  Our self reliance is not relevant.  The status quo is not reliable.
  
Because of both a recent tragedy and a narrow escape from it, I am reminded of our powerlessness when faced with the grave.  We don't choose, although Lord knows we would like to.  Believer and atheist, Jew and Gentile,  scientist and philosopher, Muslim and Christian- all confess that we are empty handed and powerless before the grave.  

But what is the response?  For the skeptic, it may be one bad night's rest and a decisive banishment of the thought to a dusty corner of the mind.  For the believer, we are keenly reminded of the singular Hope that appears most certainly in times and places in which we lack.  Death is too large for us to control.  We are powerless before it.  We need someone larger than ourselves. 

So grace it is... it's all we've got.  God so loved the world that He gave... so that we could hope.

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.  Hebrews 2:14-15.

For the Days I Want to Feel Small

Sis and I were talking about the strange things we do on our computers when we turn to mush and get sucked into the world wide web.  Kelsey looks for cars at carmax.com, peruses every posted picture on hokiesports.com, and reviews weather forecasts for every city she's ever thought she might like to live.  

I prefer to visit blogs, especially Google's Blogs of Note.  It's like the work of paparazzi, but autobiographical and therefore, consensual.  I also can't stay away from National Geographic's website.  Their Photo of the Day never disappoints.  As I find myself stuck on their website again tonight, marveling at the wonders of the world as captured by camera, I am reminded how BIG the world is and how even BIGGER still God must be to have created this.  These many creatures, these unique people, these striking habitats... all different, carefully constructed, and precariously balanced.  All beautiful in their design. Our Maker is innovative, yes?

Lesson to self: Breathe deeply and step out of self-centered, tiny world.  Breathe deeply again, and the breath is a little less haggard.  It's also a little deeper, in fact, because my perspective has returned.  My vision has widened and deepened.  

I am not the center of the world.  I am not the protagonist.  I am God's beloved, but me and my flippant preferences are not meant to reign as absolute in this life.

I figured I'd pass a few photos and captions along, courtesy of nationalgeographic.com, of course!  If I'm not inspired enough to write something worth reading, I'll settle for passing along something worth viewing. 

AUGUST 10, 2011

Kermode Bear in Tree, British Columbia

Photograph by Paul Nicklen, National Geographic

This Month in Photo of the Day: National Geographic Magazine Features

A mother of two cubs climbs a Pacific crab apple tree to grab its tart and tiny fruit. In years when autumn salmon numbers are low, the bears must find other food, such as wild berries, lupine roots, and mussels.

See more pictures from the August 2011 feature story "Spirit Bear."

AUGUST 8, 2011

Nujood Ali, Yemen

Photograph by Stephanie Sinclair, National Geographic

This Month in Photo of the Day: National Geographic Magazine Features

Nujood Ali was ten when she fled her abusive, much older husband and took a taxi to the courthouse in Sanaa, Yemen. The girl's courageous act—and the landmark legal battle that ensued—turned her into an international heroine for women's rights. Now divorced, she is back home with her family and attending school again.

See more pictures from the June 2011 feature story "Too Young to Wed."

AUGUST 3, 2011

Al Kazimiyah Shrine, Baghdad

Photograph by Lynsey Addario, National Geographic

This Month in Photo of the Day: National Geographic Magazine Features

Pilgrims visit Al Kazimiyah Shrine, a Shiite holy site relatively unharmed by the years of violence.

See more pictures from the July 2011 feature story "Baghdad After the Storm."

JULY 31, 2011

Koala, Australia

Photograph by Gary Brown, Your Shot

This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures

This little miracle was saved from its dead mother. Taken at The Australian Reptile Park in Australia NSW. The amazing staff hand raised this little fella and against all the odds he is surviving and is just immensely cute!!!

JULY 29, 2011

Cheetah, South Africa

Photograph by Frank Trimbos, My Shot

This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures

Enjoying the attention, the cheetah Juba stretches out in the grass at Wetevreden Leeuplaas (Lion Farm). She needed some peace and quiet because her leg was broken.

JULY 21, 2011

Deer, Japan

Photograph by Angie Sin, Your Shot

This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures

Deer in Nara, Japan, are revered as holy messengers of God and are allowed to roam freely. They are well known for their bowing gestures for food.

The New York Times on Evangelicals

Finally, a realistic, comprehensive take on the evangelical Christian, articulated by none other than "liberal" Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times.  Whether you consider yourself an evangelical or not, this commentary is a must-read.

In sum, Kristof uses the recent death of "gentle" 90 year-old John Stott, a British Christian writer and pastor, as a launching pad for painting a more holistic view of the evangelical movement. He begins with the overdone stereotypes, i.e. evangelicals are self-righteous, anti-intellectual, and reactionary.  

I know I am not alone in cringing when I hear these judgmental, rash assumptions.  Each of these words hits a heavy blow, first to my pride, and then to my heart.  I know it should never be surprising to walk into verbal persecution, but it leads me to contemplate: Are we really being the people of God that do the work of God if the first words that come to mind in describing the evangelical movement are self-righteous, anti-intellectual, and reactionary?  Something is not right.  Part of the problem is today's scan the page, grab a to-go cup, talk on your Bluetooth at the grocery store type of culture.  Luckily, Kristof doesn't leave it there; he rises above today's common reluctance to peer beneath the surface... of anything... and actually uses observation and facts to put together an informed opinion.  Fancy that.

He says, "Yet that casual dismissal is profoundly unfair of the movement as a whole. It reflects a kind of reverse intolerance, sometimes a reverse bigotry, directed at tens of millions of people who have actually become increasingly engaged in issues of global poverty and justice."

Thank you Nicholas.  Looking beneath the surface of the evangelical front pagers, so to speak, reveals a group of authentic people that simply believe God is who He says He is and tries, although failing often, to do what He said to do.  We're not perfect, and don't claim to be.  That's the point of the Gospel.  But, I don't think it rash to say there is more good in the world because of the God's working through His followers.