After a long and full day last Sunday, I noticed my phone was unusually hyperactive with beeps and buzzes. I reached for my phone to check messages. And I gasped. My mind froze and my body stiffened. My older daughter was talking to me but I had to tell her to stop.
Houston is like a second home to me. My 79-year-old mother and my two older brothers and their families all live and do businesses there. None of them evacuated – even if they wanted to. It was too late as most streets were no longer passable. They live in a town that is unknown to most Americans. As reporters and journalists from cable news network waded knee-deep in its streets and stood in front of cars and trucks submerged in flood water, a little town of Sugar Land made national headlines.
My oldest brother told me he drove his son’s truck to rescue some church members. It sounded surreal. What do we usually do with church people? We gather for potlucks and organize play dates with their kids. We don’t go and pull them out of flood water. As more news emerged about neighbors helping neighbors and the residents forming squads of civilian armies to assist in the rescue, the character and spirit of these Texans offered one bright spot in the otherwise inexplicable calamity.
Houston with its sprawling suburbs and ever-expanding subdivisions has become a place that has drawn and captivated many that are from the Northeast. It is a very attractive alternative to live because of the affordability of its houses. Like New York City, Houston is diverse with people from different cultures and nations. It offers the familiar feel of a big city, with the added bonus of its neat and well-organized shopping centers and plenty of parking spaces. Beyond its perfectly manicured lawns and tree-lined streets in most neighborhoods, you will find genuine southern hospitality. There is a strong church culture and almost every other person I meet is connected to a church community. Just a few months ago, I was amused by a sign outside Hobby Lobby that says, “Closed Sundays to Allow Employees Time for Family & Worship.”
Because of Hurricane Harvey, my mother has enjoyed unprecedented attention from her only daughter as I have frequently called to check on her in the past few days. She lives alone and does not watch the news. Her view of the historical flood was seen through her window into her street. “雨下得很認真! 外面像個河流!” she said. The rain is coming down diligently hard! It’s like a river outside. She couldn’t imagine the scope of the crisis and the plights of her fellow Houstonians whose homes are in the water.
This morning, I happened to read from Matthew 24. The passage compares the Flood in the days of Noah to Jesus’ second coming.
“For just like the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. For in those days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark. And they knew nothing until the flood came and took them all away. It will be the same at the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:37-39)
We can almost hear the groan of the faithful in the flood-stricken communities. After dodging one disaster after the other, here came an epic 800-year flood that paralyzed the city of Houston.
When God burned down cities such as Sodom & Gomorrah, or when He flooded a Sin City such as New Orleans, we say it is divine judgment. When God allowed the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, we say it’s a prophecy. But Houston? What to make of it? Did God accidentally punish a good, dutiful son?
Humanity has to look up to the sky and admit how helpless it can be. If God could send forty days and forty nights of rain to wipe out all the inhabitants of the earth, we know it’s possible for Him to destroy this planet…any time.
On one hand, we want to praise the heroics and strength of its citizens. On the other hand, however, we will all do well to be sober-minded and reflective. Have we been too absorbed in the worldly pursuits? Have we lost our first love for Jesus our Lord? Let’s not waste a catastrophe to only focus on increasing our resolve. Let it break us and lead us closer to our Creator as we marvel in awe of His power to…devastate and to rebuild.
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Matthew 24:35)