I am not one who plans for disasters. I rarely back up my hard drive. There is no full gas can in the trunk of the car. Leaving the house without my mobile phone is not a stressful event. Our will has remained half completed for almost ten years. One of these days I will get around to it!
I have a fresh reminder this week how disasters can happen when one does not expect it. Life is very different from just eight days ago. The range is wide. From the fact that our building was uninhabitable for a couple of days and my operations went into full contingency mode to the simple crisis with Tasha the cat, who is very sick and not responding to treatment. Contingencies, continuity of business, and compassionate treatment all kicked in; however, the fact remains that I was not ready or prepared for this possibility.
As I reflect on my soul, I can see how the external events grab my heart, stress the mind and body, and reshape who I am. The one mitigating fact is that these events are external. They are close but not intimate. I wonder. “What if the roof falls in, and your whole life goes to pieces?” (Proverbs 1.24) Am I prepared? Do I know what I would do or where I would go? Is there anybody or anything that I would trust?
A decade ago, I do not know how I would answer these questions. My response would easily be close to the glib and confident; looking from my perspective now the words would be totally unbelievable.
The difference is experience. Broken contracts and the prospect of financial bankruptcy. Coming to terms with the fact that I live with a disease that has no know cause or cure. Watching institutions I love hurt and in some cases destroy the very people they are here to serve. Working and struggling to resolve life's conflicting demands on time, love, and service. Throughout all of this, there was only one constant, God.
He is always with you.
