Tumultuous Peace

Moore, Oklahoma was hit by a terrible tornado.
The storm of all storms…the monster storm…it was called.
Miles of devastation.
Houses and buildings reduced to rubble that resembled matchsticks.

Stories of rescues and reunions.
Stories of bravery and determination.
Stories of things that happened in a matter of minutes.

The world would say, Where was God?
His people know…He was right there…all along.

Pictures are emerging from the disaster.
Pictures that tug at you…deep inside.
No matter where we live…we see ourselves.
We are that fragile…we are that vulnerable.
We are one moment away from a matter of minutes.

One picture in particular touched my heart.

It is a photograph of an older man sitting in his rocking chair where his home once stood.
Everything around him has crumbled…except his chair.
So he sits!

He is looking off into the distance.
I cannot even begin to imagine his thoughts.
His possessions are gone…except for his chair and the clothes on his back.

He reminded me of the main character in the movie UP.

Carl Fredricksen lived in his home with his wife, Ellie.
After she died, Carl lived alone.
Urban development encroached around him.
The developers tried to entice Carl to sell his house.
Because of his Ellie, and a promise he made to her, he refused.

Carl injures a construction worker over damage to his mailbox.
The court orders him to move into a retirement home.

Carl was a toy balloon vendor by trade and he had an idea.
He inflated thousands of helium balloons and attached them to his house.
His house was lifted off its foundation and became an airship.
Carl was determined to go to Paradise Falls, Venezuela…which he and Ellie had planned.

The gentleman in the rocking chair in Oklahoma reminded me of Carl Fredricksen.
He was going to sit in his chair even though everything around him was gone.
I don’t know if he has a wife or a family, but his gaze, off in the distance, spoke volumes.

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in You.
(Isaiah 26:3)

The man in the rocking chair exemplified true peace.
Peace is not about sitting quietly when everything is calm around you.
Peace is sitting in the center of a storm…tumult all around you…knowing God is in control.

The antithesis of the man in the rocking chair was a woman interviewed with her son.
She had a matter of minutes to decide what to do when the storm hit.
The bathtub she would usually have gone into was filled with debris.
Her split second decision not to go there was a right one.
She and her son are safe.

At the end of the interview, the reporter told her that she was blessed.
You got to thank the Lord. Do you thank the Lord for that split second decision?
She laughed…and said, I’m actually an atheist.
We are here, she continued, I don’t blame anyone for thanking the Lord.

Her words broke my heart.
Was it simply luck of the draw that kept her safe?
What if she had experienced bad luck that day?
Who does she thank for sparing her life and the life of her son?

Without the Lord…there is only yourself.
Cold comfort, if you ask me.

With the Lord, there is peace.
Peace in the center of the storm.

Grab yourself a rocking chair…and sit awhile.
The Lord is very near.