I'm watching lots of coverage of the impending hurricane. It is interesting to see the various attitudes and comments from the folks affected.

Some just seem irritated that the storm has inconvenienced them. Some are just plain worried. Some are grateful for any assistance. Some are complaining that the assistance isn't adequate. Some are just glad to have their families safe and out of harm's way.

It's so easy to get caught up in all the wrong things. There are many opportunities in life to come face to face with God Himself and storms definitely fall into one of those opportunities. Whether it be a literal storm or another "storm" in life, God gives us opportunity to look at our lives once again and reevaluate our priorities.

Storms in life are certainly inconvenient (but isn't that the point?!) If we can't escape the "norm", then we cannot get a new perspective. Storms certainly bring opportunity for worry. Will things ever return to what is familiar? Will there be anything to return to? Will we have the resources we need to survive? Questions, questions, questions. God uses these opportunities to show us once again that we are not in control and that He is. He knows the answers and He is the source of our survival.

In the interim, God sends family, friends and sometimes strangers to meet our immediate needs - whether it be a hug, a drink of water, a soft couch or pillow to rest on. He takes care of us and in that we can be grateful. How can we be ungrateful in this? I think we all would be amazed at how little we really need to survive!

Finally, back to the basics. Even if our homes are destroyed, our worldly possessions gone, all of our "past" buried: if we have one another, we can move ahead and build again in the grace of God. He is the God of hope, the God of new beginnings, the God of restoration.