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Deluge Teaches Family Some Floods are Good
by Greg Miller By Greg Miller © 2017
Gabriel, his wife Gabriella, and their daughter, Gloria, lived in an area where damaging floods were prevalent.
About a year ago, a flood had totally destroyed the family’s home, and they built a new house from some of their savings. The current year’s flood season was at its peak, and weather forecasters were predicting still another record-setting catastrophe.
The predicted heavy rains were, indeed, followed by massive flooding. Having learned a lesson from the previous year’s deluge, Gabriel, Gabriella and Gloria heeded the warnings and headed for higher ground.
After the flood waters eventually receded, the family headed back to their house. The damage almost equaled that of the previous year’s flood. The basement had been turned into a gigantic swimming pool, and the water had risen about halfway up the walls of all the house’s rooms. Damaged appliances, destroyed food items, and fish swimming through the inside-the-house lake, all greeted the trio as they entered the front door.
“What a disgusting mess!” Gabriella exclaimed. “Our beautiful home is no longer so beautiful! The flood swept away all our gorgeous photos that were on the coffee table next to the sofa!”
“And my favorite chair can never be restored!” wailed Gabriel. “I sat in that chair before every fishing trip to make plans about how catch ‘the big one.’”
“The refrigerator was unplugged by the storm!” griped Gabriella. “All our food is destroyed!”
Room by room, the trio examined all the home’s contents. Almost everything was ruined.
Unlike her parents, Gloria noticed some bright spots in the situation. “This is a bad flood,” she said. “But there are some floods that are good. We’re forgetting some important things. The other day, I believe I heard mom say, ‘I’m glad we have flood insurance if we have another catastrophe like the one last year.’”
“You’re right, Gloria,” said Gabriella. “Much of the damage and losses will be covered by the insurance.”
Trying to cheer up her parents, Gloria said, “And that’s not the only blessing. First of all, the biggest blessing is that we’re still alive and we have each other for comfort and support. Also, God loves us and is always with us.”
Gloria reminded both of her parents they had vacation time coming to them and suggested a family vacation. “We haven’t had a real vacation in years,” she said. “And we have enough money in the bank to pay contractors to do all the work, so we can take our vacation and spend some quality time together as a family.”
“That’s a wonderful idea, honey,” said Gabriella. “But the next time the Lord wants us to take a vacation, I hope He just uses a still small voice and whispers the idea into our ears!”
To contact the writer of this column about speaking engagements, including Christian Comedy Fundraising Outreaches, Christian Creativity Seminars and/or puppet ministry, please email [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected].
By Greg Miller 2018 Greg is retired from the Elizabethton STAR Newspaper, after working there for almost 23 years. He now freelances for the paper. Contact email address is [email protected], also facebook.com/kidcool4jesus. Available for speaking engagements/other ministries. Jesus is Lord Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |