Alert Frenzy

Driving down the highway they ran into a wall of water. The sky was suddenly dark. Visibility was barely beyond the hood of the truck. The wipers were at top capacity and still water covered everything in sight. The traffic suddenly went from highway cruising to a near standstill.

As the heavens unleashed themselves around them the wind picked up, the emergency alert warning sounds split the air from one cell phone, another, and another as people grabbed their phones to silence the screech. "Flash Flood Warning for the . . . area until 1 am. Weather radar has shown unusually high rainfall with estimations . . .." Each phone shared the same message.

Slowing to a more reasonable speed in the rain they inched their way along the highway. Many vehicles pulled to the side to wait out the storm, but they had a long way to go. So, on they inched, wipers going full blast, and conversation ceasing as they each kept a close eye out for crazy drives.

The rained lessened slightly and some vehicles sped down the highway, nearly drowning the cars they passed with the plumes of water they sent into the air. The truck kept making its way, slowly, and watchfully.

They were crossing a huge lake area. The water churned into white caps as the wind and rain drove into it. The water level was already high--flooding all the lowland around it. As this storm unleashed itself the whitecaps would splash along the edges of the roadway. The rain, had lessened again, but was still hard driving.

The alerts screeched again--the same warning, but for the area they now traveled through having made it a half hour from their previous location. For the next few hours, every half hour or so the alerts would screech out their warning--rain, flash floods, beware. While in actuality it was the same storm, as they traveled and their GPS location changed, the warning came to them yet again for that location. It was un-nerving--driving through the night with the storm, the alerts.

Their tension mounted with each alert. The danger was no different. The storm had actually lessened. Yet the constant reminder of the threat made it seem to grow in intensity. Driving on the main road, there was little danger of driving through a low water area, but the combination played on their minds. Even when they had finally driven through the worst of the storm and was in the outer edge the strain took its toll.

Sometimes we work ourselves into a frenzy. There are storms in life. Things happen. The danger is real. Yet our constant attention to the issue, the potential danger can feed on itself forming a tornadic spiral out of control. We find ourselves exhausted, scared, unable to function well, and our fears build and build.

We scream out to anyone who will hear us, seeking relieve. Or we hold it all inside and are frozen in place, afraid to move, afraid to consider anything except our mounting fear. We call out, but do we listen.

Perhaps this is what the Psalmist meant when writing "Yes, though I walk through the [deep, sunless] valley of the shadow of death, I will fear or dread no evil, for You are with me; Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort me" (Psalm 23 Amplified Bible). We don't need to fear and work ourselves into panic attacks. God is with us in all situations, at all times. Trust God to walk with us--even through the darkest, most frightening moments of our lives.

Comforter, when we work ourselves into a frenzy, help us to lean upon you, to follow you, rather than allow fear to control and defeat us. When we are afraid, teach us to reach for you. Teach us your ways so that we may find sure footing along the way and reach out to others as they struggle and slog through the quagmires of life. Transform our hearts so that we may walk with you in love, kindness, sharing your love with others. Infuse us with the sunshine of your love. So be it. Amen.