The second event was 'The Hurricane of the Century'. OK, it was a strong storm. People died, and there was widespread destruction. But that didn't happen here in my area. Here's my two or three problems about my local situation: 1. Certain acquaintances of mine panicking about the imminent danger of a hurricane. Those same certain people cautioning about 'being prepared'. Those same people passing along panic warnings admonitions to follow church leaders' counsel about EVERYTHING. They were obsessive and so eager to 'get' to use those 'skills' that they have prepared for. 2. Their dismissal of my advice about what they can expect as a result of the storm. Wind. Rain. Likely power outages. Your house isn't going to blow away. Your car isn't going to be washed down the river. I grew up here. I have been through a couple of hurricanes. It's a lot of hype here. You'll be fine. Srsly. And 3. Their disappointment that the storm wasn't worse. That they only lost power for 20 minutes, if at all. That they hadn't gotten the opportunity to bust out their 72-hour kits. 4. They were so blessed. BARF!
Ummmmmmm................told ya so?
What is a blessing anyway? I mean, really? Where do blessings come from? Who decides who gets blessed and who doesn't? Is it a lottery? Is there something a person can do in order to get blessings? Are there a finite number of blessings available to the world at any given time? Perhaps a triage of sorts? What is it called when people aren't 'blessed'? Cursed? Who deserves to be cursed?
Our house lost electricity for about 13 hours. I have friends who still have no power. Am I better? Or does someone just like me better? Or is it that I could only handle 13 hours and that's why I only had 13 hours without power? Does this blesser like me more than my friends or is it the other way around? Or does the blesser like the people who never lost power in the first place more because they weren't faced with any adversity? But doesn't the blesser give people adversity because he loves them? I'm confused.
The other thing that gets me, is that no matter what the outcome, the message is the same. If nothing terrible happens, then it's a blessing. If something terrible happens, it's a blessing because we heeded the warnings and were prepared. We're so much better than everyone else because we are blessed.
P.S. - Two weeks ago, I discovered Sam Adam's Cherry Wheat. Now THAT'S a blessing. I think I'll go bless myself now.
