"Hurricane Isaac and My Normal Life!"

Then came the typhoon that "nested" over the base and for two days.  The winds blew, the rain fell in sheets and beat against the house in waves, the window shutters creaked and cracked but the house stood firm and we who were inside were safe and sound.

Ever been in a hurricane?  Or if you are in the Western Pacific, a typhoon?

Our years in Guam gave us the experience several times since there is a potential for a typhoon to arrive within 72 hours.  That is to say that at any day and at any time a typhoon could be brewing and in just 3 days it would be upon the island.

Typical Typhoon Construction House on Base

Our home was typhoon construction, complete with heavy doors and with hurricane shutters to protect the windows.  Several times we buttoned up and sat out the storm.  As long as we stayed in doors, we were safe from the wind and the rain.  We were safe from flying object such as palm branches and coconuts.  Of course there was the loss of electricity and with it the air conditioning.  Often phone service would be lost as well.


Then there were those storms called "super-phoons" because the wind speeds were so very high that it even drove rain through the small cracks where the walls were joined to the roof.  No matter the storm, soon it moved on and before long it was time for clean up around our yard and across the base.

How like our lives!  We can be going about the day to day business of living and with little or no warning suddenly the winds pick up, the rain starts, a storm breaks out upon our lives, and we begin to look for a place of shelter.  It may be the typhoon of a lost relationship, the super-phoon of a failed marriage, the typhoon of financial loss, the storm of confusion about what to believe, the blinding rain storm of a death, the hurricane of unemployment, the storms of difficulties with children, and the list goes on and on. 

What is one to do?  Just as we put in a little extra water, some canned goods, a lantern and candles, battery powered radio, etc. so too we can do similar things to prepare for the typhoons of difficulty.  Instead of the things mentioned we do well to store in our lives some other things.

When word of a typhoon was passed across the base, there were those who had not prepared and thus they scurried about making preparations at the last minute.  Then there were those who had prepared ahead of time and had plenty of time to take care of those last few preparations.

We do well to be like the latter group.  Like the five wise virgins of whom Jesus spoke.  They had extra oil for their lamps and so were prepared for any eventuality.  What might we do to prepare for the typhoons of adversity for there will be many along the roadway of life?

First and foremost, we would do well to get our relationship with God not just straitened out but on a firm footing.  That is exactly why Jesus Christ came!  It was His purpose to show the way to God and as well to show the "hows" of having a durable relationship with Him.  That is what it means to be "saved" or as others term it, "born-again." 

We also can prepare by establishing and maintaining a good and solid relationship with a local congregation, a church--those who have a personal relationships with God and enjoy fellowship with one another.  It is in such a congregation that we find support and care, comfort and correction, and much, much more to assist in the stormy times of life.  Just like our typhoon construction house, it can be a place of refuge.

Another resource with which to prepare are the Scriptures.  That is not to say that one prepares by finding a few promises in an attempt to manipulate God into some course of action or another.  No, it a commitment to study and prayerfully follow what the Bible says to do in the good times so there will be a foundation in the bad.

Just as the wise person prepared for the typhoon before one was in the forecast, so too wise is the person who prepares well before hand for the uncertainties of life.  Does it not make sense that if one waits for the wind and rains before they consider the Bible, it might well be just a bit late?  Said another way, to be helpful in times of difficulty one is wise to read and study the Scriptures well before the winds of adversity and rain of pain break out upon one.

There are many other ways in which to prepare for adversity. Know this, that all of them, that is each and every one of them begin with a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

How about the clean up of the residue after the storm has moved on?  God through Jesus Christ can help with that as well!

Perhaps, just perhaps the preparation just listed are the reasons that that some seem to weather the hurricanes, typhoons, and even the super-phoons of life while others find themselves at the mercy of the winds and the rains.