Up until these storms, it seemed that maybe it was time for the construction season to enliven and begin its' annual activity. Our nation, possibly the entire globe, is embroiled in a recession and it seemed that in our little market, we were on the verge of shaking this off. But now, our optimism again finds itself on hold, waiting for things to dry off. Despite what momentary set-backs this may bring, I find myself in wonder and not despair.
You see, I believe in a God Who controls these things, Who has always controlled these things. A storm front is, for Him, less than a deep breath; a Hurricane is not even a sneeze. It strikes me as almost hilarious that humanity as a whole has grown so modern, so convinced of our abilities to subdue the Creation with enough money and effort, that we fail to see our ultimate smallness in relation to His might. Think with me for a minute about this....
With a few hurricanes, He compromised the economy of the mightiest of nations with an enormous (for us) repair bill. In June 1944, a storm front postponed the greatest, most incredible amphibious attack in the history of warfare; men with their technology at the mercy of the wind and clouds. A minor shaking of the Earth cripples entire mega-cities, so carefully constructed with all of man's ingenuity. Even a season of inclement weather can reap the loss of thousands of jobs and the end of many businesses...
But all of this seems so... active. What about the passive sovereignty which He has over geography? It is probably far more common that we recognize a catastrophe (even insurance companies would attribute those to God), but what about the rise and fall of topography and the flow of the waters over the land? These boundaries were laid out a hundred generations ago, and there is no nation or people anywhere that is not subject to them.
Cities are typically built in areas that are flat and near water, which in itself sounds simple, but demonstrates that men must work with what they are given. The wealthy typically build in high places, while the poor live in the low lands, in every time and place. The greatest of armies must always consider the battlefield itself as a determiner of success or failure, with the same ground granting favor or defeat to many armies over vast centuries. Highways and roads are always surveyed in light of the lay-of-the-land. Rivers and canyons must be bridged, water must be diverted or piped, ground must be leveled, on it goes.
In all of these things, regardless of mankind's abilities, our hubris is always tempered by the Creation we encounter. If we are honest with ourselves, we are left to realize our finitude. We are dwarfed by the Creation, which can not even begin to demonstrate the majesty of the Creator!
And so, when I see us scrambling to shovel out the driveways, I smile in spite of the task. I am drawn back to my God, my Father, Who has everything under control.
