“Those tornados last night were destructive.”
“Yes, we were blessed by the Lord that they didn’t hit us.”
“I don’t think the people who were struck would appreciate hearing that.”
–Conversation overheard at a coffee shop.
We were indeed fortunate that the series of tornados struck 35 miles west of us and others 35 miles south.
But to say we received a special blessing of God implies that those other people, who are every bit as Christian as we, are cursed by God.
Some sensitivity to others before turning everything into “all about me” comes from taking a pause before making an uncaring comment.
We do this so easily in prayers. We pray for God to bless us, or support us, or protect us. But in so doing, we unwittingly are praying the hurt, destruction, and even death of others.
Developmental psychologists can describe for us at what age we should be outgrowing the self-absorption we had at 2 years of age. But we struggle into and through adulthood to broaden our view beyond ourselves.
We, in our location, were quite fortunate not to have destruction visited upon us. Others were not so lucky. We need to reach out in aid. For, the next time the tables may be turned.
Faith Venture 
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