Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.  Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”
So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”

• Genesis 9:12-17

Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven.  He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars.

• Revelation 10:1

Today was supposed to be our church’s Fellowship of Prayer. I awoke early to get ready, but the team leader had already e-mailed regarding localized flooding in the area near the church. She was cancelling the meeting. The local schools have already cancelled, and the national weather showed a report that evacuations were on-going in an area near our church. We live on a hill, very high up, so we are fine unless this reaches Noah-type flooding.

But I am thinking now of a few church members that seem to have damage every time it floods. They may be among the evacuees.

I am also reminded of Hurricane Ivan. Hurricane Francis soaked the ground and filled the streams. Then Ivan caused everything to overflow its banks. As the company’s safety director, I went to the company president to request we close down the office a couple of hours early, and he refused. We were the only ones in the industrial park to stay the full day. A twenty-minute drive home became over an hour and a half due to the road closures, and, even then, I had to drive down one water-covered road to get home.

Yet, that was just an inconvenience. Hurricane Ida has taken lives. Places in Louisiana are still under water. And I will forever remember (okay, I already cannot remember the exact words) the words of the police chief in Grand Isle, LA. “Tell ’em to make it stop! We can’t handle another three hours.” He was talking to a meteorologist, and the last that I heard, meteorologists just reported on the weather. They do not control it. The police chief lasted more than another three hours and saved many lives in the process.

And as Hurricane Ida continues to cause trouble, prayers are needed and the ones already in recovery mode need to not be forgotten. Our fellowship may be cancelled, but that never cancels prayer. Besides, the leader of the team will call me in a little while, since I am the secretary for the team, and give me the latest updates to out prayer list.

Thank you for your prayers, and keep praying.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.