July 16, 2026
Ah, a clap of thunder. A harbinger of summer monsoons. Our dog crawls whimpering into bed, shivering and panting in my ear. She hates loud noises. I listen as rain comes to Arizona’s Rim Country. The decades-long drought has dried the nearby creek, and wildlife is suffering. Thank God for rain.
Arizona is so dry that small wildfires crop up daily while Texas and the South are pummeled with flooding rains. There’s little snowpack in the Rockies. Phoenix and much of the East are in the high 100 degrees. The West has major forest fires. Tornadoes devastate communities in the Midwest. Europe is in a dangerous heat wave. It seems as if Nature is more chaotic than in years past. What is going on? Where is God in all this turmoil in Nature?
In God’s world, Nature rules. Nature does not listen to anyone’s opinions, dismissive political spin, or self-interests. It is driven by chemistry and physics, not by our wishes. We either learn, adapt, or risk hardship. Building in dry forests or on flood-prone land is risky. The choices may be ours, but the consequences are God’s. Life has risks and stuff still happens, so it’s important to pay attention to cause and effect, to scientific assessments, and to your inner wisdom, the Holy Spirit within, as you make choices in life. Whatever happens, even in disasters, God still loves us. He did give his son for us.
