Aftermath-" A result or effect, especially a bad one." This is an appropriate word for what much of our nation is looking at now and in days ahead. This history-making ice and snow storm has affected millions and missed only a few. Schools, churches, government offices, airports, eateries, factories, department stores, malls, highways......and on and on the list goes....have been hit by closures. Now we face the aftermath of it all.
Our damage is very small compared to many others, but it is there in our yard we have groomed for years. A grapefruit tree I planted after we moved here produced a bumper crop of Rio Red. Not only did the fruit get picked earlier than I wished, the tree is at jeopardy. Our lemon tree was just beginning to produce blooms for the new year. We had many plants that were tropical, knowing some season a storm like this would occur. It did. The aftermath will show up day after day in weeks ahead.
We in South Texas know another aftermath will occur.....it will be the one following a long overdue hurricane when it roars through here at a future date. Those in other areas deal with tornadoes that give little or no warning but leave little behind but torn trees and lives. Drought has a slower affect. It is the silent killer of soil and crops. In the thirties dust storms swept across parts of the country in frightening black clouds. Folks could not breathe. Cattle died. Then, there are mountains that sleep now, but deep within, fire and brimstone await the right moment to spew ashes and searing heat like Mt. St. Helen's did years ago.
Doom and gloom? Perhaps. Add to this scenario wars and recessions; stock market crashes
and overthrown governments. Mix in a constant threat of nuclear war that could destroy beyond belief. Enough? I think so.
What can we do about it all? Very little, really. What can we do about US is the more important question. Jesus promised we would have all these things happening along the way. Sin and Satan has destroyed or captured much of the once-perfect world God looked at and said, "that's good". He had to give up his Son from Heaven for awhile to come live among disturbed, sinful, mean people. They killed Him.....but in that evil act they released the blood that became a sacrifice for sin for each one who trusts and follows Him. It all makes possible for Believers to plod on through the AFTERMATH of life's difficulties with Faith and Hope and Assurance!
Hey, that tree might just make it!
