A Mangled Mess

Well, this first week of the New Year has brought some interesting experiences our way.

It began on Sunday evening as we were going to church. It was raining and ahead of us on the freeway there was a 10 car accident. Needless to say, this caused quite a traffic problem and delayed our arrival at church. A 10 car accident is a mangled mess all by itself but it also creates a mangled mess of the freeway traffic.

Later that same night the rain got worse and the wind began to howl. I learned later that the wind gusts in our area got as high as 60 mph. At 5:00 the next morning I was awakened by an unwelcomed sound. It was the sound of our patio canopy being pushed around by the wind. This canopy is free standing but it is made of sturdy metal and it was weighted down by heavy concrete blocks. Apparently not sturdy or heavy enough though. I went downstairs and peered out into the darkness. I couldn't see really clearly but well enough to know that our canopy was halfway over our neighbor's fence. By now I am wide awake. I decided to wait until there was more light before I went out to see what I could do. While I waited I watched the news and heard them talk about how the rain would affect the Rose Parade later that morning. Also, while I was waiting, I was hoping that the wind and rain would die down a little. Well, the rain and wind did not let up so at 6:30 I bundled up (I wish I had a picture of this) and ventured out into the storm. What I encountered was a mangled mess of metal. The wind had torn the frame apart. Some of the poles were bent as if Superman had used them to demonstrate his strength. Fortunately I only had to disconnect 2 parts of the frame in order to get the part over the fence back on our side. Actually, there was one pole that was stuck up in our neighbors tree which they came out and fetched for me. So there it lies on our patio, a mangled mess of metal ready to be hauled off as useless junk. Strangely, just a few days earlier we had sat out on our patio, under our canopy , eating lunch on a beautiful day. But things changed in a hurry. That Monday we sat in our house and as we looked out into the stormy weather I'm sure that I saw white-caps on our pool. That storm turned a nice canopy into a mangled mess.

Last night we witnessed the end of USC's 34 game win streak as they lost to Texas in the Rose Bowl. It was a great game. The game lived up to all the hype. But many a USC fan found their nerves in a mangled mess during the game and even after the game. Some of them may even find their nerves still mangled today. I am sure that many Texas fans experienced the same mangling during the course of the game but they should be over it by now. But this kind of game can do a major mangling mess to a person's emotions.

We all face disappointments in life. It may be with the traffic, a canopy, or a football team. Obviously we can face disappoints that are more serious than these. We can't avoid disappointments. But the Lord never disappoints. As I thought about these current events my thoughts were drawn to Psalm 118:8-9. "It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes" (Trojans). It is better because the Lord never changes and the Lord always does just what He says He will do. I have walked with the Lord for many years now and there is one thing I have learned for sure and that is, "Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed (Romans 10:11)." So, we can either allow ourselves to be blow around by the circumstances of life and wind up in a mangled mess or we can take safe refuge in the Lord.