October 19, 2017 (Thursday)
When Hurricane Harvey was still offshore, before we lost power, I saw a satellite picture of the storm on the Weather Channel. It showed the eye. Then the announcer showed us little black spots throughout the eye. “What is that?” he asked. Then he answered himself, “It’s not debris.” He went on, “It’s birds!” A certain kind of bird follows the eye of the hurricane where the winds are calm and flies in perfect peace, surrounded by powerful destructive winds. I never even heard of that before that evening. And then the lights went out, and we braced ourselves for the stronger winds on the way.
Another little tidbit of information that intrigued me when I first heard about it. It’s about the birds during a hurricane. Do they leave? Some do, but many stay. Seems that God has gifted birds with the ability to grasp a branch, locking their claws in place. The bird cannot let go, so he relaxes in the midst of the storm. Somehow he gets through it, and the next day, after the storm, you can hear him singing.
When I think of the Lord’s help in times of trouble, I think of a story I read of a father who was walking with his small son, who insisted on walking without help. “Son, we’re headed for an icy spot, so please let me take your hand.” “I can do it by myself,” replied the son. He immediately slipped and fell. After two or three falls by the son and pleas by the father, the son gave in: “You can take my hand now.” Then all was well. The song, “Jesus hold my hand,” pictures that scene. We need to let the Lord take our hand and lead us on.