“Oh, God our help in ages past, our Hope in years to come. Our shelter from the stormy blast, And our eternal home.” These words from this hymn echo through my mind as I struggle, as do we all, to fully take in the recent tragic events in the Central Texas floods.
I have chosen not to watch nonstop coverage of the recent flooding in Central Texas, although I have briefly watched the sheriff and other officials giving reports and I praise God for men and women with the skills and determination to rescue and find everyone possible. They are calm and are leading people in a horrible situation with grace that can only come from God, I believe. Thanks be to God for such men and women. There is only one way I know to handle disasters, especially involving children, and that is to pray. We will not find help nor solace nor peace through endlessly watching televised coverage of the horrors.
Disasters of epic proportions such as this happening in Central Texas activate our “fight or flight response”, our brain’s built-in reaction to horrific events, whether real or imaginary. This creates in us an urge to respond, to fight or to flee the danger. It is automatic and it the events need not be something we are physically involved in. Endlessly watching is traumatic because we are continually reacting to our instinctive need to fight or flee, and we can, literally, do nothing! Thus we are in constant turmoil and panic, which leaves us exhausted, emotionally drained and can lead to depression over events we cannot control nor change. When we can “do” nothing to “fix” things, we can feel out of control, and we may become depressed, leading to feelings of helpless and hopelessness.
The truth is that the unimaginable, the unthinkable has happened: the deaths of our precious children and family members and horrific devastation has unfolded in front of our very eyes, and we are helpless: but we are not hopeless! We have hope, always, in our Lord God, through His love and mercy, and in the strength that He alone can give us, strength to face whatever happens in this world. We can ask for His strength to handle what has come to us and we can pray continually for His mercy for the families, the victims, the responders, officials and volunteers, as they make their way through this. They need all the continuing prayers we can offer. Second guessing and blaming should have no part in our thinking. At some point in time, reviewing and rethinking and resetting guidelines and expectations and planning will happen: now is not the time for that. The goal will be to prevent such future tragedies from occurring.
Many lives have been lost and the saddest to us are always those of our children. We rejoice over the safety of those found and must continue prayers for those families who have lost loved ones, and we must trust God, no matter how impossible that seems. We are told that His ways are not our ways: our job is not to make sense of what has occurred but to do what we can, to pray for all: for the lost to be found, for families of the lost as well as for all the personnel involved in search and rescue, and to give generously to help with recovery.
We can commit now to daily prayer for the families of the victims and those involved in rescue and reconstruction. Ask God to help them and give them His strength to live on despite their pain and terrible losses. And start now, if we do not already do so, to thank God for our family and for His grace and mercy in our daily lives. God is our help in ages past, and He is our hope for years to come. If we ask for His help in handling the impossible, if we trust God to help us and others through this, then He is good to give us His strength and power.
Lord, we pray for those who are working in search and rescue operations to have your strength and your courage to face the daunting task of finding the missing. Thank you, God, that we live in the world where there are such organizations and where persons of great bravery can be mobilized so quickly. And God, we thank you for those who have been found alive: we pray for your spirit to grow in them as they live on with courage in the aftermath of such tragedy. We pray that the families of all lost in the storm will find comfort and strength in you. Help us remember your words from Psalm 31:20: “You hide them with you, where they are safe”. Those who are gone from us are safe; our sorrow is because they are gone away from us, and our hope can come as we understand they are with God, for eternity.
Lord, help us go forward into our always uncertain future, knowing that our help comes from you, Lord, and depending on you for strength, comfort and courage. We have no way of knowing what our future holds, but we can face the future unafraid, holding tightly to the hand of God and believing that He who created each one of us loves us and cares for us and will help each of us throughout our lives. Amen.
