As I am writing this I do not yet know the track that Hurricane Irma will take (has taken). I do not know if it will be worse than Matthew or Harvey. It could be that by the time you read this that some of us could have lost most of what we own. It could be that Irma will take a different track. And best-case scenario would be that she dies down out in the ocean.

Again, as I am writing she is heading westward in the direction of Miami, but hurricanes change their minds very quickly. So I do not know what the outcome will be as it relates to damages.

We do see the massive destruction in Houston and other parts of Texas and Louisiana, and our hearts go out to those who have been impacted. I am grateful for others whose calling includes going to these places to offer relief in the face of disaster. And I am grateful that I am able to give some amount to assist those who are hurting.

As I have watched the images on TV I was struck by the words of one young man. The reporter asked, "Did you lose everything?" He shook his head and replied, "I lost all my stuff." But then pointing at his wife and children he then said, "But I didn’t lose everything."

Oh for such a spirit of gratitude and love in the face of trouble. When he had lost his children and his stuff, and then even became ill himself, Job said, "The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord."

Too often I am not so quick to worship when things are not going my way. My team loses, or someone bumps into my car, and I’m angry and tense to the point that I do not function as I should. I’m short-tempered and fail to hold my tongue. It ought not to be that way.

I’m trying to do a better job of living a grateful life. Even in the midst of trying times, God has been good. I know that He loves me. And I know that He will help me. And that is enough.