“Some chatter on like a stabbing sword, but a wise tongue heals.”
Proverbs 12:18 CEB
So here in the heart of SC, we are waiting for the arrival of Florence. She is crawling along at 2mph. She has lost her bite. Her sting is gone. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad she is no longer a threat to us. What I’m dreading now are the complaining residents. “I lost money by not working!” “I had to take time off to be with my kids!” ” They made it seem like we had another Hugo coming!” ” These kids should be in school!” “This was a waste of my time and money!”
Our chatter and our words can really cause damage. I understand that people are upset because we over prepared for Florence. However, if people would just calm down and think they would see how blessed we are. The Governor needs the schools for those on the coast who are flooded out and lost power. They need a safe place to weather the storm and flooding that will soon come. Having the kids home for a few days was a great opportunity to bond and to slow down from the pressures of life. We spend so much time on our phones, tablets, TVs, and jobs that we lost the sense of family. Life is short and we never know when we will take our last breath. A lot of the roads are not passable or they aren’t safe to be driving on in 40+ Mph winds.
It is better to be safe than sorry. Hundreds maybe thousands of homes are flooded or damaged beyond repair. Thousands of people don’t have power. Unfortunately, seven people have been lost to this storm. We have no reason to be upset that Florence did live up to our expectations. We should be thankful that God spared us. We should rejoice that we are ok. We should use the resources we have to help those that were not as lucky.
As we spend tomorrow and Monday assessing the damage, please pray for the citizens that were affected by this huge storm. I hope that we use our words wisely and not think of ourselves all the time. Complaining, will not help solve anything. Speaking life into those who are now suffering will be effective. We could have been dealing with strong category 2 storm but God gave us a tropical storm. So I’m thankful and I will use this time off to help others. I will cherish the days I spent with my family. I will praise God for being safe and sound. I will not complain about any of it. Be blessed and stay safe. Please pray for the victims of Florence who were not as blessed as we are.
Stephon's Thoughts 