Critical. (Part I)

My side of town was chewed up by a tornado last Friday evening.  It was only a mile or so from my house.  Had it been any closer we wouldn't have had time to get to our safe place.  I try not to think about it.    

A historic church caught on fire this week in my town.  Molly and I drove past the church before the fire trucks arrived and gasped as we saw the smoke pouring out of the building.

A friend's baby was transported from a local hospital to a larger hospital a few hours away for ongoing medical concerns. 

I have a few upcoming work-related deadlines and have barely enough time to get it all squared away.

A student in my daughter's class is fighting cancer.  

My beautiful cousin has a tumor on her brain.  They are sending her to Johns Hopkins next week.  

I'm exhausted by the bad news around me these days.   

My girls and I drove through town last Sunday after the storms and looked at the homes and trees scattered about as we were on our way to church.  Suddenly our small troubles like not having power for 2 days and having to replace the spoiled food in our refrigerator seemed very trivial.  

My girls have close (read: expensive) relationships with their ophthalmologists and orthodontists, but they are healthy and well.

I remind myself when I'm bone weary after a long day at work that it's not as bad as it seems.

Someone has always got it a little worse than we do.  

But, sometimes, Satan pricks my mind and whispers doubt and disbelief into my ears.  He knows exactly which buttons to push and what half-truths my mind likes to believe.  He speaks fear into my heart and it's hard to hear the Truth singing its messages of Love and Life.

The needs around me are critical.  There are lives at stake everywhere I turn these days.  Friends and family members are feeling the trembles of unsteady ground and it's only human to be scared of the unknown.  

 Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

To be continued. . .