Learning from the Storm

To say this has been an emotional week is an understatement. The Sunday morning storms left a wake of destruction, devastation, and disappointment. For many hours I have been glued to the local newspaper pictures and television station coverage of the catastrophic event.

Before I could get up to preach Sunday morning, I was on the phone making sure that family and close friends, all in the “line of fire”, we safe and sound. Thankfully all were. My parents experienced some damage to their property, my sister lost power, Andrea’s brother’s house had a tree fall on it, and so many friends were without power and emotionally shell-shocked from the experience. I thank God that all are safe and that He kept them through the ordeal. The pictures, however, are heartbreaking. I look at so many places where I used to shop, ride, play, live, and see the effects of the fury of an F2 twister. The area of town where I grew up will never be the same I fear.

As if that is not enough, as soon as I finished church I received an email on my BlackBerry informing me of the tragic death of one of the most prolific songwriters in Gospel Music. Dottie Rambo was travelling through Missouri from an engagement in Illinois to an engagement in Texas when her bus left the road and crashed down an embankment. She was thrown from her bunk and killed instantly. The bus driver as of this writing remains in critical condition. Her product manager/webmaster, Chris Barnes, and her manager, Larry Ferguson, remain in the critical care unit of a local hospital. Larry’s wife and two children were also on the bus. She and the younger child were treated and released, the older child is still hospitalized for observation.

Dottie was a tremendous songwriter. Two of her songs, We Shall Behold Him and Behold the Lamb, are in our church hymnal. She was creative with words, ideas, and tunes – using all three to musically paint pictures of heaven for all who heard her songs. Her songs were recorded by Johnny Cash, Barbara Mandrell, Dolly Parton, and a host of other artists not normally associated with Gospel Music. One of her songs was sung by Whitney Houston in the motion picture The Preacher’s Wife, understandably one of my favorite movies, and decidedly my favorite Dottie song.

Here Whitney sings the song during an appearance at Gospel Music’s annual Dove Awards.

So what can we learn from such tragedy? The answers would come so much easier if only the “bad” people experienced the storms, but such is not the case. Jesus said, “… He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:45)

Remember that life is fragile. Live your life to the fullest. Never sacrifice the important on the altar of the urgent. People are infinitely more precious than stuff. We should never hold in our heart what we can hold in our hands. Jesus said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal…” (Matthew 6:19). Of all that was lost in the Sunday morning storms, the loss of loved ones leaves the deepest hurt. Enjoy the people in your life. Life itself is fragile and can be taken away without so much as a moment’s notice.

Because life is so fragile, remember also our Creator. Live life to worship Him. A life devoted to His glory is not spent, but invested, and wisely at that. The wise king Solomon said as he pondered the mysteries of life, “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13)

I know this blog has been longer than most, but I leave you with the lyrics of a most appropriate Dottie Rambo song.

Remind Me Dear Lord
Written by Dottie Rambo

The things that I love, and hold dear to my heart
Are just borrowed they’re not mine at all
Jesus only lets me use them to brighten my life
So remind me, remind me dear Lord

Roll back the curtain of memories now and then
Show me where you brought me from
Oh, and where I could have been
Remember I’m human, and humans forget
So remind me, remind me dear Lord

Nothing good have I done to deserve God’s own Son
I’m not worthy of the scars in His hand
Yet He chose the road to Calvary to die in my stead
Why He loved me, I can’t understand