by Joanna Morrison March 2012
Storms carry huge potential, both positive and negative, but most of the time we only notice the negative. Lying in my bed, dry and warm, I know that the rain pounding on my roof will destroy roofs and walls in the villages. Families will huddle under trees or squeeze in with compassionate neighbours. What is the plus?
At one home both parents were away and the children had locked themselves in for the night. As the house began to fill with water, neighbours bashed the door down to rescue the children. When they awoke the next day there was an eerie stillness in the village as people emerged. A solitary child cried, as she searched for something familiar. Little piles of treasure began to appear among the rubble: a lonely rubber flipflop, a plate, a cup, a spoon, an unrecognizable scrap of clothing. That is all that is left. There is no denying the negative impact of this storm.
Families welcome a bag of rice, food for the day. Some seek refuge in government buildings. Some find relatives who will take them in. Food is provided by various sources. Love is shared. In a country where government is not much appreciated, soldiers serve at great personal risk, airlifting those who have been stranded by the rising water. Crocodiles are a real and present danger with the waters so high. An opportunity to love is born out of the loss. A stirring of hearts all over the world translates into food, and buckets, blankets, and cooking pots. But no fire wood.
That’s what I noticed. Each family, big and small, searched for firewood to burn their small fire. Little fires everywhere. No sharing. Here was an opportunity missed, a gift gone awry. Children darted between the fires, and I was afraid for their safety. Scavengers also descended on the camp, hoping to benefit from the ‘well wishers,’ wandering among those who had lost everything, hoping to be mistaken.
After Noah’s flood so long ago, God gave a promise and made a covenant. His promise remains for today. He is looking for those who will treasure his covenant and live in his presence. Floods appear at first glance to be devastating and pointless. And yet they carry a cleansing edge. God used a flood to wipe out tremendous evil in the days of Noah. Floods wash away filth and weak buildings here in Bangula. They also serve to draw attention to needs that pre-existed the floods.
God uses floods to rearrange. Perhaps our priorities needed to be shifted. Perhaps our ‘house’ needed to be rebuilt. On what have you built your ‘house?’ We pray that repentance and renewal will also follow in the calm after the storm. Let it not be in vain. We pray that many will find peace in spite of their losses. ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ There is life. There is joy. There is peace.
