A MESSAGE FROM REV. SUE BENNETCH: CALMING THE DISTRESS
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out from their distress.
He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad
because they had quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven. Psalm 107.28-29
When I heard that the remnants of the tropical storm ISAIAS were heading our way, my thoughts went two places. The first was that we will probably get some rain and wind, but by the time it arrives in Bethlehem, it should be much weaker. My second thought was SANDY who made her appearance across our area in 2012.
Assuring myself that I only had a few errands to run, I made my list and left my apartment. My return trip home was very different! Every road I tried was flooded and impassable; tree limbs lay in the street, traffic lights were out. My quick trip turned into two hours as I finally found a string of roads to get home.
I have heard from several of you about your experiences with the storm; and I invite all who have had any type of disruption, to please let us know. You can text me at 610-217-1171 or call me. I can be reached by email at sbennetch@fpc-bethlehem.org.
As our Deacons canvas the congregation, you can help by letting us know if you know of someone who has damage from the storm and needs help. If you are in need of meals, our Food Ministry can help.
You are in my prayers as I remember Psalm 107. May we all make it our practice to let God know when we are in trouble. The calming of the Spirit will be there to bring us from our distress. Now the storm is still and the waves of the sea are hushed. Sometimes it is hard to read a passage like this one because we might still be caught in the storm, or the remnants of the storm. We may still have much clean-up and repairs to do.
The text does not give us a timeline, but if we think about the sequence of the text, we know there is far more to the story. Sounds like the people in this passage experience some of the same things. May we too feel the Lord’s presence through this storm, or any other storm we are encountering and may God bring us out from our distress.