After the storm

David Bowman May 19, 2020

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When the storms of life come, the wicked are whirled away, but the godly have a lasting foundation.
(Prov. 10:25, NLT)

The First Baptist Church of Yantis, Texas burned down when I was in high school. Bill Bradford was the general manager of the radio station and the reporter on the scene. He asked the pastor, “You’ve lost your church. Now what are you going to do?”

The pastor replied, “No sir, we haven’t lost the church. We lost the building. The church is alive and well.”

This is good perspective for the season we are in.

As I prepared for bed night before last, I noted the pale skin of my upper arms in contrast to my forearms. It reminded me of a conversation I had with Bubba Massengale when we were fishing one day. He had pulled off his shirt revealing his own two tones of flesh. He said, “I am long past trying to impress anybody.” Ditto.

Bubba and Brenda knew a significant amount of loss. Their house burned down. They rebuilt the house of their dreams. It also burned down. There was also a flood, loss of dear loved ones, and then Bubba came down with Leukemia, the same disease that took his mother’s life. Round One went to Bubba. Round Two went the other way.

Bubba being Bubba, he provided Brenda with a list of men she could consider marrying. Sure enough, she married one of those men and they have been together for over fifteen years. Brenda has since lost her mother, one of the funniest and most delightful women I have ever known, and her father, one of the kindest and most dependable men who ever lived. A few months ago, she lost a sister.

Storms of life come. Loss happens. Some things are unrecoverable. Some things endure forever, safely kept, fondly remembered, dearly loved.

What you have left when you have lost everything is the truest of measures.

Every time I drive by that rebuilt church in Yantis, I remember that pastor’s reply to Brad’s question, and I smile.

Every time I remember Bubba with his safari hat and bare skin fishing at the mouth of Cedar Bayou, I chuckle.

Every time I think about so many friends who have lost so much and who still love deeply and live fully, I give thanks.

Storms come. Loss happens. But there are some things which fires and floods and wind and death cannot separate. There are foundations that are firm and endure because of how they are built. I guess the question is, how firm is your foundation?

“The godly have a lasting foundation.” The winds of this storm will stop blowing. The rising waters will recede. The devouring flames will burn out. What will be left? To those who know and experience God, who seek to honor him in all they do, there will be something to build on. There will be something that endures for generations to come.

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David Bowman, (DMin, PCC) is the Executive Director of Tarrant Baptist Association in Fort Worth, Texas. He also serves as a Multiplying Trainer for Future Church Co. Learn More »

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