Mudslides and storms

Another Geography text book moment. The sort of thing I see on the news and get excited because it makes a good case study for Geography lessons. The sort of thing that you don't want to experience or witness first hand. 

I am staying on the edge of the Rift Valley and woke up yesterday to the news that in the middle of the night there had been mudflows down the hillside nearby. Before breakfast I joined lots of people to watch a torrent of water tumble down the muddy slope where previously there had been trees, grass, a path and a fence.

 

 

There was a huge storm on Friday night with 14cm rain and this was following several weeks with good rainfall. The recent heavy rainfall means that the ground is saturated, and with the removal of trees for fuel wood and charcoal and clearing space for shambas (small vegetable gardens) the soil is unprotected so acted like a liquid and flowed downhill.

 

A good Geography case study.

Three little girls were killed. The mudflow uprooted trees, knocked down fences and swept away shambas. Roads were blocked by mud, the railway line was all twisted up and swept away. The tunnel under the railway was blocked by the mud and trees. Water pipes have been damaged. Homes, if not swept away, are flooded with mud and muddy water.

Not so good really.

As I watched the powerful water rush by and surveyed the damage done, I asked why. Why a loving, powerful God permits this sort of thing to happen. Bomb attacks, collapsed buildings, earthquakes, untimely deaths, illness...

There are often reasons for these things...good geographical explanations or maybe the obvious fault of others.

But sometimes it doesn't make sense. There's no good reason. I went to church this morning not entirely sure how to reconcile what I know of God with the suffering I had witnessed. The talk at church was about this.

I was reminded that sometimes we will never know, or not until much later, the reason for these terrible things. And I was also reminded how in the hurt and uncertainty of the various struggles and 'storms' of life we can praise God.

I can praise God that he is with us in the storms. Psalm 46:1-3 puts it like this: 'God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though it's waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.'

And I can praise God that he has purposes in all things, even when I don't know what they are. Scripture tells us what he might be doing. 1 Peter 1:7 says how God might be refining us and proving that our faith is real: 'These (trials) have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.' 

In 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 Paul wrote about a persistent problem he faced and how it made him rely on God all the more: 'I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.'

And I can praise God that, even though I don't understand what he is doing, he is working for my good and his glory: 'And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.' Romans 8:28

Leaders asked Jesus the reason for a massacre and the tragic collapse of a building. Jesus didn't actually give an explanation, other than to point out that we can all die (both figuratively and spiritually) and there is an urgent need to get right with God. (Read about this is Luke 13:1-5)

I still don't understand why this horrible stuff happens. But I know that God does, and I trust him.