Sunday, October 13, 2024

The Power of Psalm 91 During Hurricane Milton

 The winds of change.  What a surrealistic sight to discover our favorite go-to lake had flooded from the storm surge, expanding 30-feet inland, claiming the picnic tables, park bench, and boat ramp.  The old cypress tree where we fed the ducks each morning now swims in the lake, but thank goodness, property damage was minimal.  


Thank you for your prayers.   Living in Florida for over ten years, we've been through many hurricanes  but this was by far the worse. We stayed put for what turned out to be the longest most fearful night ---I spent the whole time praying Psalm 91, sending prayers for protection to Florida and all the storm victims from recent Helene.  I sang uplifting songs to myself, Christmas carols, old hymns. My mind was on, tuning in like an all night GOD radio broadcaster...trying to outrace fear. 
 
The wind howled by our bedroom window as I laid in the dark, calling on the Holy Spirit, the angels, and trying to abide in the Secret Place of the Most High. Rather than wish the fear thought away in each harrowing moment, I tried to embrace it as a lesson, and choose to go deep within to rest in the Truth.  To lean into the very moment I think I can't stand a minute more!!! and to accept that moment as the immortal Truth that never changes... God is Love...there is nothing else. I am not a body. I am free.

 Funny, I kept hearing Time is Not a Factor in Your Life. God's grace is sufficient for all life in the immediacy of the now.  My ego shone a flashlight to check the clock every hour, hoping to rush the dawn of a new day. The amazing thing-- we never lost electricity. Power surges intermittently disrupted the service multiple times lasting only a second ---a triple porch lantern flickered. I called out, Angels! The oven clock flashed, lighting the darkened hallway. All the kitchen electronics beeped in a reset.  Almost like a God wink.  
 
Let me have peace instead of this, Holy Spirit, I prayed.  In earnest, I offered up all my fear in exchange for peace.  I didn't want to feel all the stress and tension in my physical body.   My mind was at peace...but my body all shook up.
 
In an attempt to replace fear thoughts with flood tides of love, I sent love to everyone I ever knew.  I blessed the trees, the flowers, the birds, the animals. My senses dulled from constant howling, I tried to imagine the wind singing a song of praise to God.  And the heavy rain, droplets of divinity blessing the earth.   Every good thought I could think of I desperately clung to, especially our Miracles Distribution window sticker that had arrived in time: Nothing real can be threatened, nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God. 

I asked the angels to place a canopy of God's Love around the tall hardwoods and palms in the yard.
To watch over the birds and animals, and to keep the area safe especially our neighbors in the 55 Community across the way.  A frightened little bird nestled in a bush by the bedroom window tweeted out during the long hours ...I sent her love and protection as relentless winds thrashed with no let up. In the background, I could hear a  loud cacophony of frogs (chanting like Tibetan monks in unison):  Fully rely on God was their song.  F.R.O.G. it! A moment of humor relief.

The next day what joy to discover our tree friends were still standing tall in the backyard, in a sunlit blue sky.  A low lake had formed a good distance from the house. My eyes misted with grateful tears to watch nature slowly return.  A sandhill crane family had managed to stay together during the long night of  high winds. They gracefully waded through the wet pasture toward the house. A pair of large turtles lumbered down the driveway and poked through the fence to take a swim in the fresh puddles. Even the wild buttercups had cheerful yellow faces having weathered the storm.  The tall palms, knowing how to bend, had only shed some fronds, but all was well.

 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.  Psalm 91-11

I'm so grateful for God's angels and the power of Psalm 91, my faith in the angels has expanded.  My worse fears were translated into calls for Love, and the angels responded.  It's never too late to begin releasing the power of Psalm 91.  It begins with a daily choice to abide in the Shadow of the Almighty. To not lean on our own understanding, but trust in the Lord with all your heart.

Now the work is to become Helpers. Look for the Helpers...many are in need. The community next door is safe and the power restored.  God is Love.
 
 The pumpkin patch at a local church was unmoved in the storm, a picture of thanksgiving.  An amazing testimony to the power of Psalm 91 and prayer.  God's angels are real.  
Thanks again for your loving prayers and support.
 
Love and peace,
 
Rae Karen