What Really Matters
Categories: Church of Christ Bulletin ArticlesOver 50 years ago, a deadly tornado ripped through Sunnyside, Texas (see map), destroying much of the little town. My music teacher and one of his brothers were in a church building attending a fellowship meeting, when the tornado hit, lifting the building from the concrete foundation.
He told me that he could see automobiles flying above him in the air like little toys, and that a concrete slab barely missed hitting him and his brother by only inches. He could see a dead man lying in close proximity to where they were laying.
When the fierce, tornado produced winds finally subsided and calm had returned, the church structure was completely gone. Three men were dead, and sixty others were injured. But by God‘s grace, my music teacher and his brother were spared.
When I asked my music teacher about the condition of his car that was severely damaged, but still drivable, he replied, “I didn’t even think about the car, I just thanked God that my brother and I were spared — several folks were not so lucky.”
Often it takes times of tragedy to remind us what really matters in life. When things are going well, we can easily get preoccupied with our possessions. We somehow become tied to so many non-essential, unimportant things. We tend to grow overly concerned about our cars, houses, furniture, appliances, clothes, and countless other trappings of modern life.
However, when life is reduced to the essentials, as it was in the case of the Sunnyside tornado, we are made acutely aware that life itself is enough reason to praise our loving and caring God.
Have we spent time today thanking God for our life and for the people He has given us to share it with?
Folks, that’s what really matters.