Acts of God. It’s written into many contracts. I contemplated it recently…

The burning bush was an act of God.

As was the flood.

The parting of the Red Sea? Yep. Would have loved to see that one!

“It’s funny Lieutenant Dan said that because right then, God showed up!” F.G.

Did Forrest experience an act of God? Yep yep, ON THE BOAT!!!

Winner winner chicken dinner! or should I order shrimp po-boy on the menu? This act of God turned out to be a blessing to Forrest and his Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. By the grace of God, Forrest was blessed with the only shrimp boat that survived the hurricane.

Then I got to thinking; maybe referring to the commonplace, physical events here on earth are simply acts of God! Think about it this way: God made our planet and all of the processes that we see actively in the world today. Plate tectonics, vulcanism, erosion, landslides and earthquakes, just to name a few. And, as those events occur, how more appropriate than to describe them as acts of God.

Every time it rains it’s an act of God? Pretty much. Maybe He’s not intentionally orchestrating every cloud but He made the atmospheric system work, along with the other processes that form the lay of the land and the currents through the depths of the oceans. This is all so fascinating to me, as a scientist, to think of how perfectly He created our planet.

Calling these events “Acts Of God” is catchy. It simplifies, making the big picture of catastrophic events black and white.  And while we’re at it let’s have an orogeny or two. Orogeny? Yes, you know, the forces and events that lead to large, structural deformation of the Earth’s lithosphere as tectonic plates collide and move about. Greatest in Mastodon scale are the orogenies.

Lest we forget the thunderstorms, floods and tornadoes. Ah yes, these common culprits that put insurance companies at risk. They know that rising water only began with Noah.

Speaking of tornadoes I’ve never shared my cyclone experience here at I’m Just Thinkin’. I took a sabbatical while attending the University of Florida. Yep, headed off for 18 months to live on the Apalachicola Bay. A friend had purchased a house on the bay, and we gutted the place, fixing her up to a new glory. It was there that I acquired a few handyman skills, serving as chief apprentice for the roofer, plumber, electrician and drywall experts. One day while hanging out we noticed a waterspout off in the distance through the bay window overlooking the water. This started to get a bit creepy when the funnel cloud didn’t go left or right and kept getting bigger. It didn’t take us too long to realize being in front of the bay window was not going to be a good idea, so my friend and I each grabbed a dog and huddled down in the hallway.

Indeed the tornado roared through the property, tearing the room off the adjacent guest house. Meanwhile, in the main house, all the windows were shattered. It was just like I’ve heard others speak of these deadly storms, the sound and energy of the freight train coming through the house. The atmospheric pressure changed and it got really cold. We looked at each other and confirmed all was ok. It seemed to last forever, but I’m sure our experience was less than 30 seconds. That same twister went further inland and killed 3 people in a mobile home park. It made national news with coverage on CNN. Pretty crazy. It was then and there that I realized tremendous appreciation for the weather, and for these acts of God.

Is a tornado more dramatic than an orogeny?

Packaging my tornado story with various other ramblings…

What to do when God shows up?