Reflections on Katrina

As more and more information, pictures, and video get out from the hurricane ravaged states, the circumstances look worse than were predicted. I remember on Sunday afternoon it was reported that Katrina had been downgraded from a Category 5 to a Category 4 storm. One meteorologist warned the reporter against making that sound like everything was going to be ok.

Everything is not okay in Southern Louisiana, Mississippi, and a good bit of Alabama. Thousands of lives have been uprooted. Homes, businesses, churches and school have been destroyed. There are no good estimates now of when New Orleans will be able to “get back to normal.”

What is normal, though? There are places on our planet that are ravaged by storms and floods annually. Even living high and dry and a long way from the coast here in McGregor, we face difficulties, sometimes devastating to us. What is normal?

Normal must not mean living without problems or difficulties. Whatever normal is, it isn’t a life of nothing but peace and tranquility.

Normal for Christians means life lived in the presence of God. That’s not just on Sunday mornings, but 24/7.

Many of you have been experiencing this. You have been more conscious of God’s presence and of the relationship. Your lives have not quit having their ups and downs. In fact, in some ways it seems like life has gotten more difficult because as you walk and live in God’s presence you are more aware than you used to be of things going on around you.

Life lived with God is not always easy or comfortable, but there is a sense in which it is good. All the time.