Disaster – He is the Anchor
By Tim Tron
Burke County
The chaos in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene becomes like a slow-motion dream as one goes through the course of the day. There is a never-ending flow of faces, out of context, out of place, disheveled, all seeking relief from the upheaval created by the disaster. The gaunt, weathered expressions speak of great loss and struggle, while others reflect just being weary from the seemingly endless need for help digging out. In the confusion and despair, there is a sense of unity, a coming together as one, united by the commonality of losing our independence, that same freedom that allows us to step away from relying on God our Father. When we lose those material things that provide us the comfort, whereby we calm ourselves in our own understanding, not that God doesn’t want us to be self-sufficient, but it invokes a barrier, if we allow, to put the opportunity to forget where our true sustenance emanates. We should be ever mindful, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”
Those layers, the façade we create to keep the world at bay, begin to fall away when the emotions of life begin to percolate through our selfishness of being. Time and again, we’ve witnessed the tearful embrace of once strangers when the sharing of images on our phones becomes too real – cutting to the quick of our core, allowing that well of passion to flow to the surface.
Praying over others is welcomed, even encouraged, as the spiritual becomes intertwined with the natural, revealing the frailty of human nature. Stepping back and reflecting on all that has transpired here in the mountains in the past few days is evidence of God working in us and through us. There has been loss of life and immense suffering, yet there is a renewed spirit of hope for tomorrow. “For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.” We pray for those who left us in the torrent of the storm’s fury and for their families who search for and wait to hear from loved ones in the path of the storm’s wake.
As we work shoulder to shoulder to recover, rebuild, and recompense, we must allow ourselves those moments to comfort the weeping shoulder, “Mourn with those who mourn, weep with them that weep,” and to uplift in praise even the simplest of things. For even in the mire of disaster, there can be a ray of hope. “They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage. So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.”
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”
Sometimes, it seems as if the driving force behind our determination to help others is that they are the less fortunate – the ones who felt the full force of the storm and not us. The apparent physical damages to their property and sometimes their body are very real. In each, there is a lurking aspect we tend to disregard, in both our own and those whom we serve, as one who is suffering. You can’t help but see the magnitude of devastation day-to-day and not be moved somewhere within your being. There it remains, fermenting in the agonizing despair of feeling of helplessness. Then one day, through some unexpected trigger, it comes out, like a soul released from the depths of a watery grave – your foot tangled in the submerged wreckage of destruction, only to be freed seconds before your last breath of life expired, now rushing to the surface to gasp for that first breath. It is a repulsive, raw emotion that envelopes all that you are until the tremors within shake your entire body. Uncontrollable tears flow like the floodwaters that took everything. It is then, at that moment, that we realize we are vulnerable souls urgently in need of a Savior. For alone, we are nothing – weak and helpless. We cry out from the mire, seeking one greater who might save us from the world and ourselves. It is when we fall to our knees in desperation we realize it is then we are strongest. In that plea for help, we find God is there, where he had been all along. It took the washing away of our stubborn self, that twisted mass of tangled tree and power line, embedded in the sin and mud of life, to reveal the helpless child within, the one crying and clinging tightly to the leg of our Father, the last ray of hope.
Many scenes touch the heart through the course of this season of despair. The dining facility on AppState’s campus, the one that has from the beginning been providing free meals to any and all that could make it to campus, has been one of the most telling of all settings. There, as in any cathedral of faith, as Christ would have it, they flow in young, old, the affluent, and the homeless – all come to sit and eat at the same table. Once, college students were the majority of the parishioners, but now, they are replaced with all manner of humanity. Devastation is no discerner of position in life. Some have lost everything; others come to refuel in order to go back out to find their place in the grand cog of the wheel that has focused on recovering what has been lost. Others find a place of refuge where once there was none, save for those who were afforded the opportunity to attend the institution of higher learning. In a sense, that forerunner educational stronghold of academia has been replaced by the scruff-of-collar, calloused-hands world whereby things are built, restored, and recovered by backbreaking labor and toil. In so doing, it has also changed into a place where a sense of belonging and love permeates the attitude of most who enter. Gone are the faces bent downward, staring into the tiny screens held in one hand with the fork of food in the other, earbuds or headphones blocking out the world around them. Now, one rarely sees the device reflected in the faces; instead, there is community, discussion, and passionate retelling of a day’s events. It’s almost as if time has been rewound, and we’ve returned to the generations before self-isolation became a reality.
Sadly, sometimes it takes a catastrophe to reshape the priorities in life. Tearing down the altars to idols, placing God first in our lives, we suddenly realize how much we had lost by not being aware of what we thought was gain, which was, in actuality, loss – the loss of the love of our neighbor, and essentially the love of God. As the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Through the storms of life, there will be times when we feel like we cannot go on. The chasms in the road will be too great to cross, and the torrents of water flowing beneath too great to wade – it is then we finally acknowledge the power of a creator in that which has beset before us, bewildering, confusing, and awakening our understanding of how helpless we are without Him.
As the psalmist wrote, “My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.”
It’s never too late to fall on your knees and cry out to God. He will hear your pleas, and in His time, your prayers will be answered.
Amid the raging fury, we must be reminded there is an anchor. The song named as such by Crowder seems to say it best,
For anyone battered
For any heart-shattered
For anyone sinkin’ down
Hold on, hold on
For all of the sinners
For the weary and weathered
Thrown and tossed, hope is lost
Hold on, hold on
There’s an anchor
In the rage of the storm
When the walls are closin’ in
In the darkness all alone
Just prayin’ for the daylight
Peace for the soul
There is grace for the mornin’
When you feel like letting go
There’s an anchor
There’s an anchor
Rebuilding and recovering here in the mountains will not be done in a week or a month. It will take time and endurance. The chaos will slow, but normalcy in some areas will be a long time coming. Yet, through it all, we will come out the other side forever changed – stronger, more united in spirit, and knowing that when push comes to shove, there is something greater than ourselves available to grab onto.
There is hope in the storm. Hang on, and be assured that you are not alone. He is there with us. Yes, He is the anchor.
Thanks be to God.
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Timothy W. Tron lives in Collettsville, NC. with his family. He is currently the Systems Administrator for the Computer Science Department at App. State. Timothy is the former Director of the Trail of Faith in Valdese, where he still volunteers and helps with tours. He is the author of a new Christian series, “Children of the Light”, with the first book being, “Bruecke to Heaven”, revised as “Bridge to Heaven”, and his recent book, being the second, “The Light in the Darkness”. He is an active blogger, artist, and musician. Timothy also has a BSEE from UF, and is a Lay Speaker. He is currently acting as the Faculty/Staff Liaison for the Ratio Christi campus ministry at App. State. He can be reached at trontw@appstate.edu You can visit his website at //www.timothywtron.com/ or see more of his writings HERE
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