Tsunami

We had made reservations to take Molly (our college Junior) to the LA coast for a couple of days for Spring Break, leaving on Friday morning. We woke to the terrible news of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and a stated warning saying that "A lower-level tsunami advisory was issued for the Southern California coast south of Point Concepcion, which includes southern San Luis Obispo County and the counties of Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego." They gave no details because they had no details, only that parts of California would be effected. We continued on with our plans arriving early afternoon and the news that "the tsunami waves unleashed across the Pacific by an 8.9-magnitude earthquake off the Japan coast destroyed boats and docks in a few isolated places along America's West Coast, but early reports suggest little widespread damage" had been released.

We have heard the term Tsunami several times in the past years. The following is a quote from a man who lived in the one of the warned areas, "The authorities have totally oversold this danger," he quipped. "I was here in 1983 when 20-foot waves crashed through the pier, and I lived to tell about it. Six foot wave warnings don't even concern me."

But scientists say tsunamis are not normal waves and should not be dismissed lightly. Even a wave as small as six inches high can "grab your feet and knock you down," says Paul Huang, a seismologist at the Alaska Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer.

That's because "the entire ocean is pushing a tsunami wave." In contrast, he says, waves created by the wind might go down 10 or 20 feet, "but the rest of the ocean is still."



Eyewitnesses in Santa Cruz compared the surge there with a massive river. "It was like a 10 to 15 mile an hour current," resident Michael Sack told the Mercury-News. "It started slow and came up about five feet."



This points to one of the challenges of tsunami emergencies, says former FEMA administrator Carlos Castillo, now with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Washington. "People underestimate the danger because they don't see the big picture," he says.



As I read these comments I was nudged to compare them to Christianity:
1) Tsunamis are not normal waves and should not be dismissed lightly; 1) Christianity should not be dismissed lightly, it is a powerful statement and reflection of God's grace and authority



2) An entire ocean is pushing a tsunami wave; 2) Our God through his son Jesus is the entire power behind Christianity...it is his power that generates ours

3) People underestimate danger because they do not see big picture; 3) The big picture for a Christian is that we are forgiven and saved only by the power of God for the Glory of God
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We can make our plans, but is God who has the power and authority to change them. This disaster in Japan is one of the greatest in history. And since it is so far away, it is hard to relate to. We see pictures, we hear the news stories, but if we do not personally experience it or see it first hand, we don't truly understand the many obstacles and suffering that a disaster as this one generates.

And we go about our own ways in our own comforts, on our own schedules. We tend to "wave" it off as something that is beyond the reaches of our country, our cities, our neighborhoods, our homes and our individual lives. But the truth is we each have experienced overwhelming waves of true sadness and suffering and grief at one point or another. And it does feel like a overpowering wave of helplessness. But God remains steadfast. He remains calm, and he is the only source who can help us to overcome the tragedies that lie in our wake.



This warning that we encountered as we were traveling to the west coast triggered a reminder to me we can only prepare our hearts and minds for God's big picture by believing in him, and seeking him and trusting him at every turn of life. There are to be disasters, there are to be causalities. but God is in control and has the power to designate and allow whatever he proposes for his purposes.These disasters are hard to comprehend, and we probably will never understand God's purposes, but what we do know is that the power of God will ultimately manifest itself into the glory of God. For he does see the big picture and we only are given glimpses into tiny fragments of it.



We cannot alter God's plans and purposes, but we can be confident and trust in Christ that whatever happens, whenever it happens is part of a plan that has been and continues to be unfolded for his purposes. We can prepare for what it to come by now building up a faith and a relationship with Jesus Christ himself so that he will guide us by his light, and strengthen us with his might.The big picture? As believers, we are each appointed a God given agenda, it is our responsibility to seek out what it is through prayer and then with courage, strength, wisdom and perseverance, pursue it...with God's help through God's ways.


Jude 1:25
to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.



Dear Lord, I acknowledge your strength and power in your great and big workings and also in your small and seemingly insignificant ones. I thank you that you sit in authority on your throne of righteousness and goodness and have blessed me with the title of being one of yours. Help me to continue to build a foundation of trust in you and in your ways. Amen

Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you to be in . . . His glory will shine through!