We had a visitor two weeks ago. Michael came through our area and left his mark on all of us. I’ve seen the pictures of the Gulf Coast, and it’s a catastrophe and a disaster and more. The area around our house in Grady County looked like a war zone. 

So where do hurricanes or tropical cyclones or typhoons originate? It’s a mixture of 300 miles from the equator, heat from the sea, a warm, moist cloud, wind and the spinning motion of the earth. 

Step one: the sun warms the ocean water to 81 degrees Fahrenheit. Step two: the ocean water evaporates, forming an ever-expanding, rising cloud of warm, moist air. Step three: that ever-expanding cloud of warm, moist air becomes less dense forming an area of low pressure. Step four: the cycle continues and the cloud begins to spin (counter clockwise north of the Equator and clockwise south of the Equator) because of the rotation of the earth. Step five: the wind begins to move the storm across the sea and the cycle of warm ocean water, evaporation, expanding cloud of warm, moist air and low pressure becomes stronger and stronger. If it moves onshore, the cycle stops, and it begins to lose power and die out. 

And then comes a time of cleaning up, re-building and healing.

“Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.’ Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again… The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3).

Matthew tells us Jesus was a king, Mark tells us he was a servant, Luke tells us he was a man and John tells us he was God. He, like all of us, was not a one-dimensional figure. We are all a combination of body, mind and soul. We are the product of everything in our lives from birth to the present. And sometimes we need a bit of help. 

If we have a problem with our bodies, we go to a doctor. If we have a problem with our minds, we go to a psychologist or psychiatrist, and if we have a problem with our souls, we go to a pastor or spiritual mentor. One of my spiritual mentors in the area of healing, Dr. Frank Stanger, says we should always pray for wholeness. So right now, post-Michael, may I pray for you, for physical and mental and spiritual healing, for recovery and for wholeness.