Post Hurricane Gratitude

I am surprised to be here with electricity, writing a blog post, sipping freshly brewed coffee.  Let me clarify:  I expected to be here, just not with electricity.  This time yesterday, I was sure we would be without power, and if we were lucky, it would only last for several days.  I was still worried about the storm wobbling west with stronger winds than we were expecting.

While I said my share of prayers, I don't believe that God decided to spare my house.  I have offered gratitude both to God and to the laws of planetary physics that kept the hurricane offshore.  But I also realize that luck probably had more to do with my good fortune. 

It certainly wasn't my good behavior.  I worship a God of grace; as my pastor reminded us in a Facebook post this morning addressed to people who would soon suggest that the hurricane's path had something to do with God's judgment, "God does not send cataclysms to get our attention or punish our sins or because you hate people who are different from you. If God punished our sins like you think God does or should then everyone (people like you) would be dodging tidal waves and meteors and volcanic eruptions instead of having time to post or tweet or even whisper such drivel."

Happily, I haven't seen many posts that suggest that Haiti was being punished or that southeast Florida was being rewarded.  Those of us who avoided a close catastrophe know that we did, and we're immensely grateful.

Part of my gratitude will include making a donation to those less fortunate.  For those of you who want to contribute too, I recommend Lutheran World Relief--they've been in Haiti for decades now, and they'll stay there for decades to come, alas.  They also have a great record of actually using the money for relief instead of for staffing administrators in offices back in the U.S.  Go here to make a donation.