Have Faith in God

I read an article today from a church newsletter we receive (we have no idea how we ended up on their mailing list) that I wanted to share with you about Faith's Object.

A young skeptic said to an elderly lady, “I once believed in God, but since studying science I am convinced that God is an empty word.”

The lady replied, “Well, I have not studied science, but since you have, maybe you can tell me from whence came this egg.”

“Why, of course, from the hen,” was the reply.

“And where did the hen come from?”

“Why, the egg.”

“And perhaps,” she said, “you can tell me which existed first.”

“The hen, of course,” rejoined the young man.

“You mean that a hen existed without having come from an egg?”

“Oh, no,” he said, “I should have said the egg was first.”

“Then you mean that an egg existed without having come from a hen?”

He exclaimed, “You’ve got me all mixed up.”

She drove home her point: “Young man, since you cannot explain the existence of even a hen or an egg without God, you cannot expect me to believe that you can explain the existence of the whole world without Him.”

The Bible says in Hebrews 11:1 that "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

I've been dealing with some serious health issues for some time now, and I'm not being very patient with the lack of a diagnosis at this point. But I do firmly believe in God, and I do have faith that He will use whatever happens in my life to my good, if I only trust in Him. I'm thankful that I have that assurance in my life.

The Worst Tornado Day I Can Remember!

I'm praying today that many missing people in the aftermath of yesterday's tornado events in the US will be found alive today as daylight makes searching possible. We live in Alabama, and we spent all day listening carefully to all the weather news and went to our "safe place" in the basement for several hours yesterday evening. We had 3 wind events pass over us yesterday. The early morning one may have been a straight line event, but 2 tornadoes passed close to us last night. We were extremely fortunate, but we know people who lost everything. At least they are alive.

One of the hardest hit by the mile wide tornado that went across 3 states was Tuscaloosa, but it apparently did not hit the University of Alabama with any significant damage. The hospital in Tuscaloosa is working on emergency generators, and they are moving patients to other hospitals as soon as they can. Cullman was hit by 4 tornadoes yesterday! And the north side of the biggest city in the state, Birmingham, was also damaged badly. Areas south of Birmingham were also hit by the first wave of high wind events early yesterday morning. There have already been 131 confirmed deaths in the state, and I'm sure the number will go up. Over a million people in Alabama are without power today.

Our Huntsville daughter and her family are OK, except for not having power. One of our news reports said some transmission lines from the Brown's Ferry Nuclear Plant were hit, so it may be several days before they get their power back. We heard from them this morning, and they are grilling the food from the freezer. They'll be camping out for awhile it looks like. They are in the process of shutting down the nuclear plant, too, just as a safety precaution, so that will delay power to many as well.

We do know of one person raised in our church who lives in Pleasant Grove whose house doesn't have two sticks standing. All her family is safe. Praise God!

I do have many memories of terrible tornado events in all the years I've lived in Alabama, so maybe it's my age showing, but I don't think I've ever been as worried about tornado warnings as I was yesterday. You could just hear the urgency in the voice of the weather men - NOT the usual hype. So, we spent the day getting our basement place ready for us to spend the night, if necessary.

We have been so blessed, but I'm grieving for all those who have lost family members and hurting for those who cannot find their loved ones. I pray they feel the peace that only God can give in times like this.