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I just came home from an early morning
mission: getting hurricane supplies before
the usual madness ensues. Even at 7a.m.
there was a rush on the stores. But, I
perservered in the intense tropical heat
and humidity, filled my tank, got water
and now feel less anxious.
The worst part of hurricanes, beside the
fear of the roof ripping off and death, is
the plunge into darkness and absence
of electricity.
The best part of hurricanes is the food.
I've gotten hurricane food down to a
science. The first essential foods, next
to freezing a whole lot of water, are
Doritos and chocolate. Trust me, these
are life-sustaining. They keep the soul
alive during those hours of darkness
and listening to the hurricane shutters
strain and clang, and the wind howling,
with a crackling battery radio tuned to
a local station where people are calling
in to say they're in a dark closet because
their roof just flew away.....
I actaully like to go outside during the
late band and early category stages. It's
so cool. The air is alive with thousands
and thousands of tiny jets of supercharged
ionic air, smelling of the deep ocean, even
of their origins in Africa. The streams all
go in different directions and there's an
energy in the wind.
Wind, breath and spirit are all the same
word in Hebrew: Ruwach. It is one of my
favorite Hebrew words. For that reason,
this ultimate wind always feels holy,
even in its' destruction... maybe because
of it.
In the Bible, Four Angels are given dominion
over the Four Winds. During a hurricane, with
the intense multi-directional blasts of wind,
I feel their power and awe.
The 'whirlwind' is a metaphor for the Lord's
anger. In the perfect balance of things, the
Lord's great mercy and love, His creativity
is matched by His anger and destruction.
For this reason, it is a spiritual event.
When confronted by the fierceness of nature,
we realize how small and weak we really are.
It is during these moments when we have
no greater strength than to reach for God.
The last brush with a hurricane was
the horribly destructive Hurricane Wilma, in 2005.
which caused almost as much destruction
as Katrina, only for some reason the media
under-reported the calamity since it involved
South Florida, not a heavily African-American
area, I think. It was something that South
Floridians had a hard time understanding.
Meanwhile, New Orleans got all the help
and we were destroyed and ignored.
Although the gov't hurricane center reported
it as a Category 2, it couldn't have been since
it shredded our 150mph proof shutters,
like they were made of aluminum foil.
Their explanation was that it spawned
tornadoes, and if that was the case, it
destroyed far more than Katrina did, and
at a higher dollar amount, too. The media
is really controlled all the way.
My hurricane windows, meant to sustain
150mph winds literally strained against
the fury. In my bedroom, I have a wall
of windows, practically to the floor. One
of the windows imploded in, and I threw
my body against it to keep it from flying
in, because then the storm would have
ripped the ceiling off. As I was standing
there, I watched my neighbor's roofs
tearing off in long whole pieces.
I watched palm trees bend to the ground.
I never understood why palms were blessed.
When Jesus rode into Jerusalem, they strewed
palm leaves in the path. When I saw these
huge majestic trees bend completely over,
without breaking, I knew what it was all
about. Grace. Simple grace.
Meanwhile, my dad was screaming for me
to get away from the window before I got
killed, and I started to pray to Jesus for
an angel to hold the window in place.
At that moment, the window was miraculously
snapped into it's frame again, which really
was a stupendous mystical event since the
window had snapped the locks.
I fell on the ground, like a palm tree, thanking
God, and my dad thanked Jesus too. For years
he has been telling people about the way
Jesus saved us.
The next day, our neighbors on both sides, had
lost their roofs and their apartments had to be
gutted. The devastation was unbelievable.
Only our condo sustained little damage, other
than the patio. Even with the hurricane shutters
shredded, and screens long gone, the grace of
God sustained us.
I believe that's why we go through these trials
and tribulations. It's only then when the Lord
can manifest His arm. It's only then when we
are utterly dependent on His mercy and grace,
and it's an awesome blessing to see how
faithful he is.
I love the smell of the incoming bands, the
ozone-y scented oceanic jets of air. Some of
the little jets are warm, some are cool, and
all go in a million different directions.
I pray that the Lord will again keep and sustain
us, as well as our neighbors and all of South
Florida through Fay. God knows the media
doesn't care if Florida is destroyed. We could
be nuked, and it would be buried beneath
news of Brittney Spears and Obama Superstar.
What a world. Thanks to God a new world is
coming.
mission: getting hurricane supplies before
the usual madness ensues. Even at 7a.m.
there was a rush on the stores. But, I
perservered in the intense tropical heat
and humidity, filled my tank, got water
and now feel less anxious.
The worst part of hurricanes, beside the
fear of the roof ripping off and death, is
the plunge into darkness and absence
of electricity.
The best part of hurricanes is the food.
I've gotten hurricane food down to a
science. The first essential foods, next
to freezing a whole lot of water, are
Doritos and chocolate. Trust me, these
are life-sustaining. They keep the soul
alive during those hours of darkness
and listening to the hurricane shutters
strain and clang, and the wind howling,
with a crackling battery radio tuned to
a local station where people are calling
in to say they're in a dark closet because
their roof just flew away.....
I actaully like to go outside during the
late band and early category stages. It's
so cool. The air is alive with thousands
and thousands of tiny jets of supercharged
ionic air, smelling of the deep ocean, even
of their origins in Africa. The streams all
go in different directions and there's an
energy in the wind.
Wind, breath and spirit are all the same
word in Hebrew: Ruwach. It is one of my
favorite Hebrew words. For that reason,
this ultimate wind always feels holy,
even in its' destruction... maybe because
of it.
In the Bible, Four Angels are given dominion
over the Four Winds. During a hurricane, with
the intense multi-directional blasts of wind,
I feel their power and awe.
The 'whirlwind' is a metaphor for the Lord's
anger. In the perfect balance of things, the
Lord's great mercy and love, His creativity
is matched by His anger and destruction.
For this reason, it is a spiritual event.
When confronted by the fierceness of nature,
we realize how small and weak we really are.
It is during these moments when we have
no greater strength than to reach for God.
The last brush with a hurricane was
the horribly destructive Hurricane Wilma, in 2005.
which caused almost as much destruction
as Katrina, only for some reason the media
under-reported the calamity since it involved
South Florida, not a heavily African-American
area, I think. It was something that South
Floridians had a hard time understanding.
Meanwhile, New Orleans got all the help
and we were destroyed and ignored.
Although the gov't hurricane center reported
it as a Category 2, it couldn't have been since
it shredded our 150mph proof shutters,
like they were made of aluminum foil.
Their explanation was that it spawned
tornadoes, and if that was the case, it
destroyed far more than Katrina did, and
at a higher dollar amount, too. The media
is really controlled all the way.
My hurricane windows, meant to sustain
150mph winds literally strained against
the fury. In my bedroom, I have a wall
of windows, practically to the floor. One
of the windows imploded in, and I threw
my body against it to keep it from flying
in, because then the storm would have
ripped the ceiling off. As I was standing
there, I watched my neighbor's roofs
tearing off in long whole pieces.
I watched palm trees bend to the ground.
I never understood why palms were blessed.
When Jesus rode into Jerusalem, they strewed
palm leaves in the path. When I saw these
huge majestic trees bend completely over,
without breaking, I knew what it was all
about. Grace. Simple grace.
Meanwhile, my dad was screaming for me
to get away from the window before I got
killed, and I started to pray to Jesus for
an angel to hold the window in place.
At that moment, the window was miraculously
snapped into it's frame again, which really
was a stupendous mystical event since the
window had snapped the locks.
I fell on the ground, like a palm tree, thanking
God, and my dad thanked Jesus too. For years
he has been telling people about the way
Jesus saved us.
The next day, our neighbors on both sides, had
lost their roofs and their apartments had to be
gutted. The devastation was unbelievable.
Only our condo sustained little damage, other
than the patio. Even with the hurricane shutters
shredded, and screens long gone, the grace of
God sustained us.
I believe that's why we go through these trials
and tribulations. It's only then when the Lord
can manifest His arm. It's only then when we
are utterly dependent on His mercy and grace,
and it's an awesome blessing to see how
faithful he is.
I love the smell of the incoming bands, the
ozone-y scented oceanic jets of air. Some of
the little jets are warm, some are cool, and
all go in a million different directions.
I pray that the Lord will again keep and sustain
us, as well as our neighbors and all of South
Florida through Fay. God knows the media
doesn't care if Florida is destroyed. We could
be nuked, and it would be buried beneath
news of Brittney Spears and Obama Superstar.
What a world. Thanks to God a new world is
coming.
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