When the Storms of Life are Raging, Stand by Me

August 29, 2005

As I write these words, Hurricane Katrina is pounding the Louisiana and Mississippi Gulf coasts. As many of you know, I lived almost a dozen years along the Mississippi Coast from Biloxi, Gulfport, Pass Christian, Bay St. Louis and Pearlington. Those communities, according to the news reports, are taking the brunt of the storm because they lie in the northeast quadrant of the storm’s eye where the winds and water surge are usually the worst. My cousin, Wanda Gregg, lives in New Orleans, and wisely left before the rush. Please join with me in praying for those dear folks (and especially the churches in that area) that God will be “an ever present help in the time of danger”.

Ironically, I will be headed to Mississippi this Thursday for a Labor Day weekend family visit. Yazoo City is in the central part of the state, but I recall in 1969 when Hurricane Camille came through the same area, trees were down all the way to Cleveland’s Delta State University, a hundred miles south of Memphis. I will preach twice Sunday morning; once at Bethany United Methodist Church on Graball-Freerun Road (yes, that’s the same Graball Hill where I grew up, and where members of the Collins family attend church), and then at Parkview Church of God where my mother and sister, Linda, attend. Sunday night, I will attend revival services at First United Methodist in Yazoo City with my sister, Marietta, and family. It will be a short and busy trip, but I hope to gather plenty of new “kudzu stories” for my next book. I plan to catch a “red eye” Tuesday morning and should be back in San Diego by noon.

Don’t miss watching the San Diego Charger’s game Thursday night against the San Francisco 49ers. Our very own Jordan Mitchell, son of Huey and Gretchen Mitchell and grandson of Charlene Savage, will be the “Ball Boy” for the Chargers. He will get to spend the entire game on the sidelines with the Chargers, and will run onto the field to retrieve the kicking tee after each kickoff. I calculate I will be 30,000 feet over El Paso when the game kicks off, but will video tape it. Congratulations, Jordan. What an honor and lifetime memory!