HOW DEPENDENT WE ACTUALLY ARE

George Offerman

I was listening to the news this morning while driving to work today, and they played several comments from stranded motorists in the Chicago area attempting to navigate the roadways. What seemed to be more remarkable (other than the fact they were on the roads to begin with) is how the majority of those interviewed were ‘surprised’ at how poor the conditions were, and overestimated their abilities in being able to get around. Despite the fact this storm has been discussed for the past few days, and it seems the forecasters were pretty close in their predictions, too many still question what is going on and don’t want to believe what is plainly in front of them.

We had our own little storm in this area last week, and I unfortunately was one of those ‘schleps’ that ended up taking 8 hours to go 20 miles in the worst driving conditions I have ever seen. Likewise, the local forecasters called that storm correct, and were even ‘on the money’ with the start time of the snow. What was, and is remarkable about this area, Chicago and the major metropolitan areas in the northeast that attempts to go about ‘business as usual’ is how it takes so little to alter our ability to do our day to day lives, and how upset and uptight people get when their routines are disrupted. Even when it is painfully clear we cannot do our normal routine, human nature spurs the majority of us to defy what we know to be true, and attempt to do what we know we cannot.

There seems to be something in the psyche of most Americans that we believe we can defy any set of conditions, and have some God given right to expect things to work out in whatever manner we expect, and have little to no tolerance for differing outcomes. I know as I drove home that night, and noticed all of the abandoned cars on the road, many people were not able to accomplish the most rudimentary tasks for that day: simply getting home in a reasonable amount of time. What would we do if something more catastrophic than a snowstorm occurred? How would we deal with the fact that we actually have little control over our environment, and would be in deep trouble if we had to depend on our own knowledge and abilities to take care of day-to-day needs?

These are realistic questions we need to ponder being Christians, and consider how we often make public proclamations on how we depend on God for our needs, when we live like we depend only upon ourselves. We then become very aggravated when matters don’t go our way, and expect the world to consistently conform to our expectations. These storms have proven how unprepared we are, and it would bode well for us to take a more humble view of our environment and world we live in. The more we see of the recent events in our world, the more is should become obvious we have little control over the world and its events. There is a need to get back in touch with the whole aspect of dependency upon God, and the need to be more open to ‘rolling with the punches’ as they occur.

What are we going to do when the big events occur? Or if longer-term environmental or economic problems start that are not resolved as ‘instantly’ as we want? Most likely, the majority will not be prepared, and the lack of preparation will strain what limited resources are available. It really is time to work on preparation and get in touch with how we truly are dependent on God for all things.

MOMENTS TO PONDER

George Offerman

Sometimes there are events in life that require some pondering and make one wonder if what is going on has ‘coincidental’ ties. I have lived in this are nearly 27 years now, and have not seen winter weather like this and to have hit an amount of snow not seen in a century, with possibly 20 more inches later today and tomorrow, has me thinking “What is going on here”. I will give full credit to my wife, Kathy, who first made this connection with the meetings that were supposed to take place on Feb 7-10

We are in the midst of unprecedented weather phenomena here in the Nation’s capital having back to back nor’easters, and according to the meteorologists is a phenomena not seen before in this area. Simultaneously, there is (was) a very controversial and scandalous four day event sponsored by the USCCB in which there were several groups to speak and present on topics ranging from abortion rights, pro child killing politicians receiving communion, same sex marriage, women’s ordination and other ‘progressive’ issues. This story has been well covered and followed by American Life League (ALL), and they have sourced pew sitter. Link below

http://www.pewsitter.com/view_news_id_28931.php

One would have to wonder if God finally took some matters into his own hands. Looking at the lineup of this event, one could not help but come to the conclusion that this whole fiasco is nothing but stench in the nostrils of God, and of the highest evil magnitude for his church. It seems the Bishops continue to show they are indifferent to the teachings of the Church, and pay little to no attention to the Vatican and what they should be safeguarding. The Bishops seem too preoccupied with their own reputations and seeking approval of those who could care less about the Churches teachings and beliefs. They cannot claim ignorance to this, and are ultimately responsible and accountable for the speakers and content presented.

I don’t remember seeing a time in which the Federal Government closed for two days, the airports closed much of the time, public transportation virtually shut down, and for those trying to drive into the city, no way to get into the side streets, very little parking and absolutely no street parking. And on top of that, more to come, just in time to disrupt the final day or two of this disastrous event. This area is truly paralyzed, and I am very confident that if this event has gone on, it is having the attendance it deserves.

There are many who may disagree with these sentiments, and wonder if God would paralyze a whole region to stop such a scandal from occurring. I, for one, believe He would, and Scripture has many accounts in which God has intervened in the affairs of men to make his point. The question that really should be pondered is: Are we listening?

Most will write this off as a coincidence and see this snow as a nuisance, versus a warning to be heeded. There can sure be a lot worse that could happen other than 3-4 feet of snow to contend with, and it may be a signal of things to come if we continue promoting scandal as if it were legitimate teachings and true ways of our faith. When will the Bishops ‘get it’ and begin to reign in the scandal they are promoting and work on teaching the Faith as it is?

It also makes one wonder how long suffering our God is, and when he may finally run out of patience. As aggravated as many are getting by the weather, how would we deal with an event of the magnitude of Haiti? We can barely handle the snow here, and runs on food and other items, gas and power outages have shown how vulnerable we really are. Would we even recognize these events as redemptive or punitive? Or would we continue on with the status quo, or even blame God for not watching over us?

Any way one wants to look at this, the weather events of the past weekend, coupled with what is coming in the next few hours is unprecedented. The effects of this event will at least disappear with warm weather and we all may have ‘fond’ memories once the hot and humid weather returns. But it would be good for us to ponder how ‘coincidental’ these storms are, given what was taking place in the nation’s Capital, and how scandalous it truly is.