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Eye on the World: natural disasters
Scores of people were killed and injured when a tornado, the result of a storm system stretching across much of the United States, swept through Moore, Oklahoma on Monday afternoon. The two-mile-wide tornado, accompanied by high winds and hail, leveled schools and homes and knocked out power and water for many residents. Meanwhile, on Monday morning, a magnitude-6.5 earthquake rattled southern Chile. No tsunami warning was issued.
How can we respond to news of natural disasters, whether they happen close to where we live or far away? There’s something more we can do besides sit by and hope for the best: we can meet news of destruction with prayer.
“God doesn’t create natural disasters” shows us an important starting point: those affected by events like earthquakes and tornadoes deserve our compassion and support, but we need to pray to see more clearly that destructive events do not originate in God, divine Love. Our prayers to better understand God’s peace bring harmony to a roiled material mentality, and we’ll naturally see this harmony reflected in fewer disasters.
“Shelter from the storm” offers a ground-level look at how we can prayerfully respond to news of devastation. The author, a city administrator at the time, shares how she prayed when she spotted a category-4 tornado bearing down on her town. She recognized that the atmosphere of Love, God, was what was really in control, and destructive weather has no spiritual legitimacy to destroy property or to take away life. Her community was safe when the tornado veered away before reaching town, and many residents acknowledged God’s role in saving lives and preventing damage. Similarly, an author from the US mid-west wrote “Weathering storms” to contribute to the dialogue on this topic.
This recent Sentinel editorial, “Real indestructibility,” provides a beautiful reminder that that which God creates – which certainly includes each one of us – is permanent, uplifted, and blessed at all times. This kind of prayerful insistence provides protection not only against natural disasters, but also against hatred and danger of all kinds.