Smart People Heed Warning … Hello weekend readers. A shout out to all our fathers (living or dead) with a great thank-you for being a part of our lives. I hope you all take a moment to look back at memories with your father (or guardian, etc). Dads may not always be what we want, but they try their best just as we all do. My dad was one who always reminded us of things that we should heed, like a storm, or grandma is coming so don’t get caught in her storm, along with warnings of “don’t go out on the boat in lightning…etc.” Sometimes I wanted to tell dad that I know what I am doing, but honestly, many times I was dead wrong. Like this true story…

In 1969, a group of people in Pass-Christian, Mississippi, were getting ready to have a “hurricane party” in the face of a storm named Camille. Neighbors told them not to do this, the warnings for Camille were dire, but they persisted to have the party. The wind was howling outside the seaside apartment complex where the party was being held when the chief of police pulled up to issue a warning to evacuate. The response? The owner of the apartment told the officer, “This is my place. If you want me out, you’ll have to arrest me.” The chief couldn’t make arrests, yet he tried to talk them out of it but he wasn’t able to persuade them to leave. They had been warned but sadly, they had no intention of leaving. The party went on in full force, but then, at 10:15 p.m., the front wall of the storm came ashore. Winds were clocked at over 205 miles per hour—the strongest that had ever been recorded at that time. Rain and baseball-size hail pelted the buildings while the storm surge crested as high as 38 feet! News reported the next morning that the worst of the damage was right in the area of Pass-Christian, where over 32 people were killed at a hurricane party. There was one survivor from the apartment building—a five-year-old boy found clinging to his mattress; his parents died in the hurricane.

In Romans 9:18-21 [VOICE] the Apostle Paul says to those who are not happy with how God handles things:

“So when and where God decides to show mercy is completely up to Him. Likewise, when He chooses to harden one’s heart, how can we argue? I can hear one of you asking, “Then how can He blame us if He is the one in complete control? How can we do anything He has not chosen for us?” Here’s my answer: Who are you, a mere human, to argue with God? If God takes the time to shape us from the dust, is it right to point a finger at Him and ask, “Why have You made me this way?” Doesn’t the potter have the right to shape the clay in any way he chooses? Can’t he make one lump into an elegant vase, and another into a common jug? Absolutely!”

So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to harden the hearts of others who refuse to listen. Like Camille’s horrific hurricane, there was warning after warning yet there are many who will stiffen their necks and simply say “no, don’t believe it, I’ll do my own thing.” I think of the 5-year-old boy scared from the head to his toes, and now without any parents. I wonder “what does he think through such a tragedy and how is he today?”

In our society we see that God is put up on a shelf rather than in our hearts. Those who are discouraged and pass-off the gospel, need us to show the way. Is it easy – heck no! I can tell you many stories of folks that told me “Lady, God has never helped them and they have crossed God out of their lives.” These folks live in “constant hurricane mood” wondering what rock will drop on them. How sad, but we can take heart in knowing that God is the one who can soften their bitter hearts. May we be patient and trust in God to work everything out according to His plan. Jesus came for the lost and Jesus continues to find them! AMEN