To know us is to love us

"Great is His love toward us"

Psalm 117:2

Watching the news lately, I'm seeing a lot of coverage of the Mississippi River.  The southern U.S. is experiencing its worst flooding in over 50 years.  Right now, we wait to see how Louisiana and Mississippi are going to fare, but at the same time, I'm wondering:  How's Memphis??

Memphis, Tennessee was the big story last week.  You couldn't turn on the news without getting an update.  There was even an online news source that had a video camera set up so you could stay constantly apprised of the water level.    My hubby, the Apple of my Eye, had found the Memphis "flood-cam" and forwarded it to me.  He knew I was very interested.  You see, we were in Memphis just last year.  We had gone to Nashville for the graduation of my sister-in-law, who had earned her advanced nursing degree at Vanderbilt University.  (You go, girl!)  And after exploring the Nashville area for a few days, we spent a few days in Memphis.  We love traveling anywhere in the U.S., but Memphis holds some special memories for me.    I loved walking down historic Beale Street, and we had a great, great dinner there.  Fabulous BBQ ribs, in a crowded joint right on Beale.  Licking sauce off of our fingers while Elvis (the later years) performed his classics onstage.

Sunset on Beale Street

Then, the next day, we drove to the Mud Island River Park.  Mud Island is a peninsula that juts out into the Mississippi, across from Arkansas.  The museum has a permanent exhibit outside, called the Riverwalk, which is an exact scale model of the Mississippi River.   They have carved the states into the walkway on either side of the river, and you really get a feel for all the twists and turns the river takes on its way from Illinois to the Gulf of Mexico.  You can also stand in, and walk through the ten states it runs through on its way.  It's truly the coronary artery of America.  It was fascinating for all of us to learn so much about the Mississippi.

We're standing in "Memphis," looking at the "bridges" that go across to Arkansas.
The "river" level is low, because it was late summer

Having been to Memphis, and having such fond memories of it, I'm more concerned than I might otherwise be.  Sure, I've been praying for everyone I see on the news, like the tornado victims in the South a few weeks ago, and those suffering in Japan.  But I feel more connected to the people in Memphis.

That's the difference.  Being connected.  Imagine if I ~ if you ~ had a connection to everyone along the mighty Mississippi that's being flooded, and to the people in Japan, and everyone else in the world that's suffering.  You'd be exhausted with worry, and with trying to stay on top of all the situations, you'd hardly have time for anything else.

Well that's how God must feel.  He is intimately connected to each of us, and constantly aware of us.  There is not a single headache, stubbed toe, broken heart or insomnia-causing concern that He doesn't feel right along with us.   I had a conversation years ago, with a friend, and I said something about God coordinating something perfectly in my life, and how grateful I was.  She replied, "I don't think God pays that much attention to the details in our lives."  I felt so sorry for her.  It's one thing that God loves and cares for me deeply, but it's entirely another thing to know it.

Do you know it?   Isaiah 63:9 says "In all their affliction He was afflicted."  Though it's more than we can understand, don't underestimate His connection with you.

~ "I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." ~

Romans 8:38-39