Three weeks ago I sold my house in Canyon Lake (TX) and bought a new home on Lake Conroe (just north of Houston), which is surrounded by 100+ ft tall pine trees. At the time, I remember thinking, “how am I going to get those pine needles off of my roof?”

When Hurricane Rita began approaching the Texas Coast my thoughts turned to how those tall pine trees snap like twigs in high winds and whether moving to Lake Conroe was a good idea. As local news channels began reporting certain doom for Lake Conroe, I started to become seriously worried. The thought of having my new house destroyed and rebuilding was unthinkable. After all, my builder still had yet to complete some minor projects and I had just installed a wrought iron fence so Duke (see Avatar) could play in the backyard. But I digress. Does God love Houstonians more than New Orleanites? Absolutely not! Do Houstonians respect God more than New Orleanites? Possibly.

The Wednesday before Rita slammed into the coast of Southeast Texas/Southwest Louisiana, I was brought to tears by a prayer I heard on a secular radio station. I happened to tune in just as the person offering the prayer was apologizing to anyone who might be offended by his prayer. The man spoke beautifully for at least five minutes, asking God to direct the hurricane away from Houston and toward a less populated area. The prayer ended with a promise that Houstonians would make a point to take care of those areas sacrificed to save Houston. You really had to hear the prayer first hand to appreciate it (or hate it if such things offend you), but I have no doubt in my mind that thousands of people listening to this man were also overcome by emotion as they said, “Amen.”

Pat Robertson often gets in trouble for saying people are being judged when one unprecedented disaster after another strikes the world (e.g., 4 hurricanes hitting Florida in one season, the Indian Ocean Tsunami, droughts in South America, etc.). If being judged means that people who constantly offend, or do not know, God are not protected by Him during horrific events (and anyone with a cursory knowledge of the Bible understands these events are not God’s Will), then Pat is right. Robertson is misinterpreted by those who assume he means that certain people and those around them are being punished by God. What I believe Pat is trying to say is that people who ignore God, or openly offend Him, should not count on God to protect them when calamity strikes. Those who love God and at least put forth an effort not to offend Him can always count on God’s protection.

Anyone who understands what I have just said will appreciate the fact that those pine needles were blown off of my roof during Hurricane Rita.

Are you aware that the French Quarter, which is unarguably the least God-respecting area of New Orleans, came out reasonably unscathed, compared to other parts of the city?

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"Nothing is true. Everything is permitted." - Hassan-i-Saba

Sam, I live in Lake Jackson (by Freeport). I left Wednesday about 2PM and got kinda teary eyed thinking that I might be looking at my home for the last time. I spent 4 days in Humble. There, we had pretty decent gusts causing leaves and small twigs to fall and the power to go off for about 24 hours. As I came home Sunday morning, I expected at worst a tree on my house. I was certain my fence would be damaged. As I drove up the side street, I looked down the ditch and was able to see the fence was fine. I knew I had no damage at all then. Yet, by the time I turned the corner and drove up my driveway, I was bawling like a baby. You see, my Daddy was barely able to get out of his motor home Thursday night when it caught on fire. His wife didn't get out. My Daddy will come home to the house he's lived in for close to 40 years, but in a way, his "home" is gone.

When I got the news, I was unable to go to my Daddy. I couldn't help him. All I could do was tell him to look at Phillipians 4. Verses 4-9 are my favorites and the only thing I could think of to help him. If you know of any other passages that would be comforting, please share. I can barely think straight.

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"Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves." ~Ronald Reagan

I am so sorry, please forgive me for being insensitive. That wasn’t my intention, I was just so happy and grateful to be spared. I know that we have never met, but I seriously share your grief for what little comfort that will bring.

MT 11:28 Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

REV 21:4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.

Sam, you weren't insensitive at all. I was just pointing out how I was worried about my "stuff" when I left, but I could take no comfort that it was all fine when I returned. I have read many of your posts and I know you've felt the "peace that surpasses understanding". I thought you might have a couple of comforting verses handy and you did. I appreciate it very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

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"Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves." ~Ronald Reagan

Islamic source state:

Sahih Bukhari -

Volume 9, Book 88, Number 224:
Narrated Ibn 'Umar:

Allah's Apostle said, "If Allah sends punishment upon a nation then it befalls upon the whole population indiscriminately and then they will be resurrected (and judged) according to their deeds. "

that hurricanes hit where they do due to natural laws. Why didn't the hurricane hit New York? Or even better Chicago? Because these places are away from Hurricane Alley. Why don't any natural disasters hit Detroit? The areas of Houston that were hit were less developed than the areas of New Orleans. Also since a big hurricane just hit somewhere else, it wasn't too difficult to convince people to evacuate.
If religious people think God is such an emotional, irrational, foul-tempered ****, why do they worship him? If that's what God is, maybe Lucifer had a point.

I wasn't aiming that at Sam or 12thman. I realize that's not what you were trying to say. It's aimed at Hasan

I have a couple of possibly conflicting thoughts here.

I have no problem with praying for something bad to pass you by, and on a practical level it would be much better for a storm to hit a less-populated area than a heavily populated one.

But it seems wrong to pray that the storm hit someone else instead of me. Human, perhaps, but wrong. Offering to help that person after they get hit doesn't make up for wishing the storm upon them in the first place.

I think it's that offer to help that bothers me the most. Because that's acknowledging that you're asking for the storm to go destroy someone else's life, not just praying that, wherever it hits, the damage and loss of life be minimal.

That's the most generous interpretation of Robertson's statements I've ever seen, and I'll consider future statements of his with that thought in mind.

I've wondered, though, why he saw God's will in an act of human agency (9/11) but not in the recent hurricanes?

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Man up.

You’re right and I personally feel emotionally drained right now, because my blessing was someone else’s curse. I am definitely not any more deserving than those who lost everything and didn’t realize how inappropriate my flippant comments were until I read about The12thMan’s father’s tragedy.

You will think I am being unbelievably naive, but there is no doubt in my mind that if President Bush and top leaders in Congress had openly prayed on our nation’s behalf for the storm to die at sea, God would have listened. Such a suggestion is laughable in today’s society and I guess that illustrates my point - we keep telling God to leave us alone and then are bewildered when He does leave us alone.

Maybe Pat has learned what I have just realized, that it’s best to shut up after tragedy strikes. There is such a fine line between wanting others to know what power, mercy and grace is available to everyone and coming across as being self-righteous and judgmental.