Earlier this morning I bumped into a friend at the coffee shop. Asked me if I had a couple of minutes. Told me that his wife was diagnosed last week with brain cancer. Said they were praying for a miracle.
As I replay the brief conversation in my mind and try to imagine what he and his wife are going through, my thoughts go to the hundreds of thousands of people whose homes and lives have been suddenly disrupted by flooding in the Midwest. Today, with more rain forecast for the region, and with the waters of the Mississippi rising, am trying to imagine the emotions of river communities praying that the levees hold.
One report caught my attention. In an Associated Press article, writer Allen Breed writes that “Brian Wiegand, 48, of Oakville, was sandbagging the levee Monday evening near a drainage pumping station. He was concerned about more flooding as water began lapping to within a foot of top of sandbag wall. “The Bible says the prayer of one man, God hears,” Wiegand said. “Here’s my prayer: I ask for the strength of God to fight this flood, and I ask for the grace to accept whatever happens.”
Brian’s prayer reminds me of the Apostle Paul who had seen God do miracles, who knew what it meant to experience the help of God, and who had learned– above all– to count on the sustaining grace of God to face “rising waters” that would have otherwise ruined him (2Cor 12:8-9).
Would be interested to know how you process news that illustrates our human vulnerability.
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