Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Jesus Saves

Reading through the mountains of information and news about New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina's aftermath, I came across this news article. It probably sounds a bit hokey to some, but it brings me joy, optimism and faith.

The story is about a statue of Jesus near the famous St. Louis Cathedral in French Quarter. It seems mighty Katrina couldn't knock it down. The statue is unscathed except for the left hand thumb and index finger that are now missing. Because of the missing digits, people are claiming divine intervention spared New Orleans a direct hit. To quote the article, "it was the hand of Jesus, the missing digits to be precise, that flicked the hurricane east just a little to keep the city from suffering a direct blow." That's friggin' cool.

The night before the storm made landfall, I did some major praying and talking to God. I prayed for a miracle - a downgrade before Katrina made landfall or sparing the New Orleans area, where our families live, a direct hit. I went to bed strangely happy, all things considered. I knew God was, at least, listening to my prayers, if not answering them. Imagine my suprise when I woke up the next morning and Katrina was downgraded to a Category 4 and took a slight turn east. Yeah, ok, it still was one of the worst natural distasters to hit the US, but the last second-ness of the downgrading and turn makes me optimistic and hopeful.

Then, I read this article that says, "Devistating as Katrina was, it would have been far worse, but for a puff of dry air that came out of the Midwest, weakening the hurricane just before it reached land and pushing it slightly to the east." I can't help but believe that Jesus had a little something to do with that puff of air.

With any tragedy, people wonder how could a loving God let this happen. No doubt, millions of people along the Gulf Coast are asking that. And, I don't know if I have a satisfactory answer for you. But, I have great faith that God is working overtime right now listening to people who are calling out to him. I am very optimistic that scores of people will soon come to know the love and hope that Jesus offers.

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