According to the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), this winter was one for the record books in the United States. Not only was it the wettest winter on record but, as a result, there was more snow across the upper Midwest than usual and larger than average rainfall in the south. All of this together has led to an early spring marked by massive flooding that started with the snowmelt in the Dakotas and nearby states and has created an overflow in rivers through Nebraska and Iowa while moving down through the rest of the Missouri and Mississippi basins. Massive evacuations have occurred, farmers have lost crops that were their primary annual income, water has been contaminated, and it’s not over yet.

This type of flooding doesn’t happen quickly. Because it builds as the waters flow down, and because there is more snowmelt to come, the flooding gains power instead of relenting. This gradual build up, in conjunction with the already full rivers and saturated ground further south, will move the flooding across the country until it reaches the Gulf of Mexico. According to The National Weather Service, the flooding will likely continue into May. Nature can create devastation in any climate.

What comes next

We live in an age when understanding the weather has become so advanced that, to a great extent, professional meteorologists can predict it accurately. Those predictions offer us critical information that lowers the death tolls and increases preparation. However, even with the advance information, because of natural disasters, each year there are people who lose their homes, their livestock, their income and their sense of place in the world. When that happens, it is challenging to one’s faith to look back with trust and look ahead with hope. We as Christians know that God’s promises offer us much to lean on in times of need. Although we are not promised a life of ease, we are offered grace beyond measure and life eternal.

Question of the day: When have you been amazed by or scared by nature?
Focal scriptures: Genesis 9:12-17; Jeremiah 29:10-14; 1 John 2:24-27

For a complete lesson on this topic visit LinC.