Change of Plans

Battery Lamp May 8 2014

Yes, I knew today would be stormy. But I was startled when the alerts for a tornado went off. (Rough weather - May-Dallas News) Something about “take shelter immediately” when one has nowhere to shelter can get a girl’s heart racing – especially given the damage recently inflicted by storms barreling through Arkansas and Alabama last month. And then the power went out. Into the powder room we trudged, and waited for an all-clear, which came within 15 minutes.

Still no power.

The tidy porches were waterlogged, and things blown about. The yard took a beating – tree limbs and debris everywhere; the mercy is that two inches of rain fell. It didn’t end the drought, but it bought a bit of time.

Whatever it was that visited it us, it disrupted power, and our plans for a quiet evening -- Just as life always does when we are making other plans. (John Lennon)

So, we took ourselves out for dinner, splitting a steak and potato.  As we were finishing, a person ambled in, covered in a torn trash bag, wet, and searching.  They looked around and quietly left.  I bundled the untouched dinner rolls, and we quickly left – trying to share what would have just been tossed. When we found the person, we honestly couldn’t tell if the person was a he or she, so thin and disguised they were in baggy clothes – covered by a holey bag.    

Almost twenty years ago, we encountered another soul, wandering, hungry, homeless just down the street – then as now, both were reminders of what I could have been, but for God’s mercy.

The power came back as we readied ourselves for bed -- and I had to record this weather lesson. 

Somebody may have prayed – But, somebody said or did something that became a lifeline. And I found my way out of the scary places that the two street folk I have encountered still wander.

God, I pray now for that person whose sex and sanity have been swallowed up by the brutal force that life can be. And I ask your forgiveness for being part of the generation with unclean lips and hard hearts. Thank You for turning the lights on for me, back then and again tonight – literally and figuratively. Shine Your light in dark places, and bring us out . . . especially those I love.