As I am writing this, Hurricane Milton threatens to potentially bring tropical storm conditions to our island community. Recognizing that even as forecasters strive to accurately predict future conditions, they can be off by a considerable amount when it comes to the local impacts of tropical systems, it is impossible to say exactly what the weather will be like here throughout the day. However, the latest hourly forecasts don’t look very bad at all for us here, essentially giving us a day of steady winds between 20-30 miles an hour, with gusts approaching 40 mph. Our prayers are certainly with those living to the south, where the full force of the hurricane is felt.
Ordinarily, a weather forecast like ours for today would not create much concern. However, when our island has already experienced the impacts of two previous tropical systems, Debby and Helene, we find ourselves existing in a context that has already been stretched beyond the ordinary. Soils have been loosened by the rains and standing water, even as root systems have been tested by the swaying of the trees due to the winds from those storms. Some branches have been cracked, with damage that is not readily visible from ground level. The cumulative effects of the previous storms have created conditions that could topple branches or entire trees under circumstances that would have otherwise passed without incident.
We as human beings are not unlike the trees. We too can find ourselves at a breaking point not because of one mighty storm, but because of the cumulative effects of many stressful events that we had seemingly survived. The invisible physical and emotional damage can pile up, and while it may begin to heal with the passage of time, the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back might come along while we are still healing, causing us to snap simply because of an innocuous statement or an otherwise harmless moment. We were seemingly strong and resilient one moment, only to be crashing down in a heap the next.
We know to be aware of the lingering effect of storms on trees because these tropical systems aren’t very subtle. However, the storms that we endure as people are often individual and kept quiet. The news wants everyone to know about tropical systems, but we tend to not want to broadcast our own troubles to the world. The result is that people expect us to be healthy and able to withstand the normal banter and stressors of daily life. Yet perhaps it is time to realize that normal life today is filled with storms and stressors that can take an otherwise beautiful day and turn it into a time of despair. Perhaps it is time to realize that nearly everyone that we come into contact with might be struggling from some invisible battle that has left deep wounds. Perhaps it is time to put aside both heated political rhetoric and casually antagonistic statements, and instead seek to speak comfort into the lives of others.
To the church in Colosse, the Apostle Paul wrote: “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” (Col 4:6). This seems like excellent advice for today.
Peace and blessings – Pastor Aaron