Hope in Oklahoma

"by the sorrow of the heart

the spirit is broken"

Proverbs 15:13

The news today has been all about Oklahoma.  The tornado yesterday was a bad one, and the pictures are sobering, and in some cases, heartbreaking. 

... frightened children being pulled out of destroyed buildings. 

... people who have driven from neighboring states to locate grandparents.

... folks grateful to have their lives, though their every belonging is gone. 

Each image, each tale more painful or poignant than the one before. 

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But I also heard of a miracle today.  Those are not uncommon in the midst of a disaster, though often they are human-driven miracles, more than God-driven.  With the understanding, of course, that all good things come from Him (James 1:17)

But this was an unusual miracle.  I'm not sure I remember hearing of this happening before, but it gave me a bit of hope, and reminded me of what's real. 

Yesterday evening, in the last news report I saw before I had to leave the house, they were reporting 2 people had died.  By the time I came home, nearly 5 hours later, that number had increased to 51, with many of those being children.  The Apple of my Eye even commented on how much worse the death toll had grown.  When something like this happens, it's painful every time the number grows, so a jump like that was hard to hear. 

But this afternoon, when I turned on the news for an update, the reporter informed me that because of the confusion in the aftermath of the tornado, some bodies had been counted twice.  In fact, those who had died numbered only 24. 

Now, you understand that I mean "only" just as a comparison.  Each one of those lives was precious, both here on earth, and to God in heaven.  But whenever there's a natural disaster, the number rises, not falls. 

And I know that that number might rise again as the missing are accounted for.  But it just reminded me that nothing is as bad as we think it is.  Sometimes we misunderstand the facts.  Sometimes we just don't know all the facts. 

And we sometimes fail to remember the bigger picture ~ that He holds the earth in the palm of His hands.  "He is before all things, and in Him all things consist." (Colossians 1:17)

We live in a fallen world.  Sadness and hardship are never out of sight, but our faith and peace need not waver.  God's in His heaven. 

And He's right here on earth, too.

~ "truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled

 with the glory of the Lord" ~

Numbers 14:21

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