December 26th, 2004

could there have been another way, God?
for you to prove your incomprehensible power,
another path you could have taken to display your strength,
why did you, capable of anything, choose such calamity?
such destruction and devastation,
to sovereignly reveal to the breaking world, more of yourself,

could there be a greater reason, God?
why people were swept away in an instant,
from their feet, unaware and taken,
by water so mysteriously strong, and so angry,
with rage, robbing lives without giving back,
and from heaven you watched as part of your creation crumbled,

could it have been any worse, God?
when as the broken earth suffered and wept,
those who outlasted searched desperately for who they lost,
and children crawled on their hands and knees,
in weakness, starvation,
so afraid and so alone, trembling not merely from cold,

could there be healing, God?
for the souls left alone, empty in body and spirit,
for the aching hearts broken by water,
and the land left ravaged and painfully forsaken,
the families who put everything into their own,
now left with nothing but the concealed, lingering bit of hope,

could faithfulness be seen, God?
by the weary eyes so oppressed and defeated,
or will their lives never again be restored?
may they see you, among the destruction,
and your perfect plan in the midst of their devastation,
for there is a reason, you promised, for all that comes to pass,
be glorified through this, Jesus,

glorified.