Dear Fellow Trekker,

Looking back on the events of the last month, I am reminded that each of us learns in Trekking 101… we climb the mountain that is there! That is the life long challenge… to accept what is given, deal with it the best one is capable of doing, and pray for the gentle breezes and soft, soaking rains of tomorrow. The storms of life will always go where they decide to go! How we respond, how we react, reveals the essence of our character.

As I write this morning, less than three weeks after hurricane Katrina slammed into Louisiana and Mississippi, another massive storm, Hurricane Rita, is twenty-four hours away from the Texas coast. Like Katrina, Rita promises to deliver a powerful punch. Oh, what metaphors on life are before us. As no two storms are exactly alike, so too are the storms of life different for each of us. As no two coasts are alike, i.e. how each absorbs the storm, so how we are ‘hit’ by the storms of life and are destroyed or ultimately recover, varies for each of us.

A lot of thoughts crowd into my mind this morning. Let me share them… sobering truths, all:

1. Man is not in charge! There is a point at which we churn and toss in the waves of life. Nature (and Nature is often a convenient synonym for those who do not choose to openly acknowledge God) is in control. Man is subject to the forces of nature that God has instituted and allowed wide latitude.

2. The “blame game” began in the Garden and we have been hell-bent to play it ever since. One of my favorite writers of the day, who happens to be of Jewish descent, Charles Krauthammer, wrote recently,
“In less enlightened times, there was no catastrophe independent of human agony. When the plague or some other natural disaster struck, witches were burned, Jews were massacred, all felt better (except the witches and Jews). A few centuries later, our progressive thinkers have progressed not an inch. No fall of a sparrow on the planet is not attributed to sin and human perfidy.”

So Katrina hits, and the blame game begins. The President is Sinner-in-Chief! What irony! Many who blame the President cannot even purse the word sin on their lips! How sad and without hope!

3. How we cope over time with the calamities of life will determine the overall health and vibrancy of any society. The unfolding pages of life are neither predictable nor fair. As a society, we must be prepared, react as quickly and adequately as possible, and be grateful we are alive to help our fellow man. I like a quote attributed (in Forbes magazine) to playwright, Tennessee Williams, “Don’t look forward to the day you stop suffering, because when it comes, you’ll know you’re dead.” Churches, God’s people so to speak, must take the lead, proving again and again, the Gospel is not primarily something to be preached, but to be lived. Too often the church is asleep at the switch, and does not seize the day of opportunity to reveal the grace and mercy of Christ.

4. The aftermath of Nature’s knockout punches like Katrina reveals the pitiful depth of human nature…the dark side. Rioting, chaos and exploitation on the streets of New Orleans were so sad and disappointing to view. But it should not surprise us who have been enlightened by God’s Spirit. Without the restraint of God through His appointed agents.. as Romans 13 made clear in Paul’s day… in our day or then, men slide quickly into chaos, sin, and degradation of the human spirit.

5. Men and women of character rise to the occasion. “In that you have done it to them, the least of the brethren, you have done it to me” (Mark 25:40), comes to mind. We risk our lives to rescue strangers. We open our homes and our hearts to them. We offer food and shelter. We are responders, not fault finders. And, I must remark as an old soldier, we remove our wounded from the battlefield. We do this all as to Christ.

Trekker, we have to think smart! As a general officer in New Orleans challenged the press the other day, “Don’t think stupid”, in response to some of their inane questioning. Then later he addressed one particular journalist with this rejoinder, “You are stuck on stupid!” Oh friends, let us not get stuck on stupid! To think smart and aid my own orientation in handling the inexplicable vagaries of life, I recently developed an acrostic to help me cope, survive and live for another day. Let me share it with you in closing this month. DARE is the word! Will you dare to be the man of God you have been created to be? If so:

Desire Christ alone! Life is surprise, failure, loneliness, disappointment and despair! Life is also Jesus Christ (John 14:6). God has a wonderful LIFE for your plan and that is the Life of Jesus Christ, the nature of God within. The Kingdom has come within us!! We are to rejoice, “for our redemption draweth nigh.”

Accept suffering. Suffering in life is the inevitable consequence of man’s alienation from God. We can be reunited with God in Christ, but the ravages of a “fallen world” are the natural condition of all history. Study Job.

Realize relationship is the essence of life. Run and walk through life in relationship. Live and die to preserve and protect your relationships. This immutable truth flows directly from the Trinity itself… God is in relationship with Himself, and folds us into the relationship with Him and others. This truth makes marriage and family always front and center!

Embrace the eternal perspective! We are so myopic in our three score and ten. Deal with the moment, but believe in the future! Our faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not (now) see. (Hebrews 1) This is what our forefathers were commended for, and what will enable us to reach the summit “not somehow, but triumphantly.”

Your fellow trekker,
Jim Meredith