Of Fires,Floods and Faith

Pastoral Pondering
by Pastor Keith Larson
The phone call came on a Sunday afternoon. For a few seconds fear and anxiety gripped Ginger. It was from daughter-in-law Beth. She doesn’t ordinarily call us. Usually son Ben calls. What had happened that she would call? Ben for being almost 35 years old still enjoys “adventure” and what many people might consider “dangerous” activities – climbing up sheer rock cliffs, hiking mountain trials, teaching activities on “high ropes” adventure courses, with training in wilderness rescue. Well nothing had happened to him, but on the first afternoon of summer camp at Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp, where he is the assistant director, during registration, a forest fire broke out in the mountain forest near camp. He was quite tied up in the evacuation of the camp – relocating over 150 campers, counselors and staff to a nearby high school gym.

We watched the internet all week for news, as firefighters worked to extinguish the fires. Fortunately, the camp was spared and hopefully after being out of the camp for two weeks they will be able to move campers back. On Father’s Day, he called and said he would be running the camp’s mountain backpacking program from the back of his moving trailer he bought back when Beth was attending seminary in Dubuque.

While the fire in the Sangre de Christo Mountains in Colorado did not make the news outside of Colorado, we have spent the last months watching extreme natural phenomena around the world. There was one of history’s worst earthquakes in terms of the tsunami that followed and the Japanese nuclear disaster that resulted; some of the worst tornadoes in recent history, some of the nation’s largest forest fires, some of the worst flooding ever on the Missouri River and other rivers of the upper Great Plains.

These disasters are reason for many people to wonder what is happening. Some wonder if these are signs foretelling the end of times. Still others wonder if these things are a result of climate change that is taking place. I certainly do not wish to read too much into these events. But they do remind us that as human beings, important as we think we are, have little control over the world around us. I am reminded of Psalm 8, where the hymn writer looked up at the sky on a starry night, contemplated the scope of the universe, and wondered how it was that God could care so much for insignificant human beings.

What can we learn from these disasters and even the disasters that have hit eastern Iowa recently – the 2008 flooding, the Parkersburg tornado, the failure of the Lake Delhi Dam? We live in a dangerous world. Rivers flood, forests burns, mountains erupt, tornadoes and hurricanes form, and there is not much humans can do besides get out of the way. In the midst of all these events, we believe that God cares for us. When disaster strikes, God helps us through the events, providing family, neighbors, friends, and governmental assistance. God has created a world that can grow back, regenerated and repair itself. (However after the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, we are learning regeneration will take many many years and the verdict is not in yet how radically that area has been damaged.)

We can never protect ourselves from every danger or disaster that might befall us. Disasters bring terrible loss and grief for those involved. Yet we remain confident that God is with us and will help us deal whatever comes our way, for we are promised that nothing – forest fires, earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, or even death can ever separate us from the love of God.