Praying Through Hurricane Sandy

Last night, as I prepared to sleep, I reflected on the ferocity of Hurricane Sandy as it passed this region.  My wife and I sought to be prudent in preparation.  We laid in supplies of food and water.  We checked our batteries in the flashlights and made sure that our crank-up radio was charged up in case the power went out.  We filled sandbags, lugged them home, and placed them at all openings on the ground floor.  The wind began to howl, and the rain pelted our windows.  We prayed for the integrity of the seawall up the street, so that the tides would not overtake us and others as they had done before.  And we waited.

            Very little happened.  The tides stayed in the bay.  Flooding from rain water stayed on nearby streets.  Trees and their limbs stayed intact.  With but a brief interruption, the power stayed on.  Even the mail was delivered, proving the truth of the myth that, despite storm and night, the mail must come through.

            So many others further up the coast were not spared the wrath of the storm.  My heart and soul goes out to those who have lost so much.  Life is risky—most of the time, calculated risk, but acceptance and a wager that our choices about where and how we live will bring blessing rather than distress.  Some even are proud and dare the forces of nature to confront them.

            On that last point, as an aside, I wonder whether, when the Boardwalk is rebuilt in Atlantic City, Donald Trump will sneer at any storm and build the Trumpwalk….

            Every life in every day presents us with changes and chances.  How do I view this condition in my own life?  I confess that, whether I am prudent or proud, I cannot control my life or this world.  God alone can provide for me and preserve me no matter what.

In my bedtime reflection, as I said Compline, I turned to a prayer in which one confesses human limits and real humility.  "Be present, O merciful God," I prayed for Cindy and me and all others in struggle with the storm, "and protect us through the hours of this night, so that we who are wearied by the changes and chances of this life may rest in your eternal changelessness; through Jesus Christ our Lord."  To which we all must say, Amen.