I am paying attention,in the aftermath of these hurricanes, to the things that we consider the simple necessities of life in today’s world: water, electricity, phone, and internet. The sudden removal of them demands adjustment. The return of them causes such appreciation for them! Presently Hilltop has water but nothing else. Gingerbread Hill has water (never left) and power (restored) but not the other two. How THRILLED we are with electricity! Oh, wow…what a service! We’ve had it back for few days now, even if intermittently, but all I can say is, “Wow! I LOVE electricity! Thank you, Ben Franklyn and God, for giving him the idea!” (He was a strong believer, you know.)

And my thoughts go to the places that have NONE of the services above…either as a result of hurricane, earthquake, flood, or other disaster, maybe they have never even had them properly to begin with. PoInt: How blase we become when we have all. How we take them for granted! Lord, may we NOT take these blessings for granted. As evidenced, they could all be removed in a moment. May we remain grateful at all times for these and all the many other blessings in our lives. Lord, please help us to keep our hearts soft with gratitude, I pray. Please help us to remain consciously aware of Your goodness and Your grace, on a momently basis, not as if expecting them to disappear at any time, but just in humble gratitude, for “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. – James 1:17

Regarding Montserrat: Surely all of us here realize that we dodged two “BIGUNS.” But I feel certain that it was no more luck or good fortune than it was that we are such wonderfully godly people that we “did not deserve” to be thrashed by Irma or Maria…with all Montserrat’s been through, (considering Hugo and the loooong volcanic siege, etc…) No, we humans are ALL alike in God’s eyes, and He loves us ALL equally. That said, I know that prayers are never ultimately in vain, and we certainly did pray. I do believe though that for Montserrat God has a very particular purpose which was laid out many, many decades ago. My prayer is that we, here on the ground, would perceive being spared from Irma and Maria as a wake-up call, as we look around and see what the other islands experienced. I pray that this would register, individually and collectively, as a humbling. Its opposite, pride, stands ever in the way of God’s will being done. I’m reminded of 2 Chronicles 7:14 : “If My people who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and turn from their unrighteous ways, then will I hear them from Heaven and I shall heal their land.” Montserrat has needed healing for a LOOOONG time now. We on this island and all the others so need your healing touch, Father. We so need a keen awareness of YOU and Your Goodness, to put things in right perspective. And true humility is the key. Ya can’t fake it. It has to dawn in the heart as an awakening. Lord, I pray for a Great Awakening on this little island and on all the islands of the sea. I so long for this that I can see it in my spirit. May we never take Your goodness for granted, as something we might deserve or that we can work for and earn. Your goodness is Your free gift, made available to us through Your dear Son, in Whose name I pray. Amen – So be it!