Broken Hallelujah

 

On July 3rd, Skyler went to bed in her cabin with her bunkmates and counselors nearby.  After falling asleep, it started raining, but she probably didn't even hear it.  Around 2AM, she was awoken by loud voices instructing the campers to get in the back of a pickup truck so that they could be taken to higher ground.  She was able to make it to safety, but 27 others at the camp did not.  They were washed away by the flooded Guadalupe River.   The loss of life is tragic.  There are many who have questioned whether the camp did all it could to prepare for and respond to the flood, and others that think the camp should have never been built there.  But in the midst of her fear and sadness, Skyler took another position.  She rewrote the words of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" and posted a video of her singing the song online.  The video was watched by over 100,000 people and the media took notice.  Fox News invited her to sing the song on their show.  They had also learned that Skyler's favorite singer is Lauren Daigle and invited Lauren to surprise Skyler in person on live television.  Skyler was overcome with emotion.

It is interesting to note that while Leonard Cohen was not a Christian, spirituality was often a theme in his writing.   He was raised in a Jewish family and his lyrics to Hallelujah included lines about King David from the Old Testament.  He writes about a "broken Hallelujah" which I believe is praise that rises from difficult circumstances.  He closes "Hallelujah" with these words:

And even though it all went wrong

I'll stand before the Lord of Song

With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah

I sing Hallelujah to the God who inspired Leornard and Skyler to use their God-given gifts to honor Him, and pray for everyone affected by the tragic loss of life.

Snakes and Doves

I am about two weeks into my "Read the Bible in a Year" reading plan.  The daily reading features scriptures from the Old and New Testaments.  I am currently reading in Genesis and Matthew.  I know from leading small groups in the past, that reading to teach is much different than reading to read, so I have decided to take notes daily about what stood out to me in that day's reading.  

In Matthew 10, Jesus called the 12 disciples.  He then gives them the authority to drive out demons and heal the sick and instructs them to travel lightly as they go from town to town proclaiming the Word of God. "Find somebody trustworthy to stay with while you are in town," He told them.  He then warned them that He was sending them out like sheep among wolves.  They would need to be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

Jesus is calling us, too.  If you have accepted that call, then Jesus's instructions above are also for us.  I want to be his disciple today.

Mystic mystery

Dick Eastland's grandparents ran Camp Mystic in 1939, and Dick was the third generation of Eastland's to dedicate their lives to the camp.  There has been tremendous scrutiny over the horrific loss of life at the camp after the July 4th flooding.  The riverfront location provided a serene setting for the camp activities, but the area was known to be in a flood zone.  For over 100 years, heavy rains threatened the area, but never like what happened two weeks ago.   Heavy rains would frequently trigger flood alerts like the one that was received at 1:15AM on July 4th, but over the next 45 minutes, Dick recognized that something was different this time.  Campers began to be evacuated to higher ground around 2AM with the help of brave counselors who were later hailed as heroes.  But their efforts could not save everyone.  Dick Eastland sacrificed his own life attempting to get campers to safety.  

Why would a camp be located in an area where this could occur?  Two weeks ago, there would have been no question as to why the camp was there.  To show the love of Jesus to young girls and help set the groundwork to develop them into women of purpose.   While the flood threat was real over the course of the last 100 years, no rain event had presented a threat that the camp couldn't respond to.

Why would God allow this to happen?  I believe God is the God of love.  His love is so big that we will never understand it completely until we meet him face to face.  This does not discount the immense pain that comes from the loss of loved ones that day, but it does give me hope for what is to come. 

Urge To Read

 I have posted frequently in the past about topics our small group from church was discussing at the time.  I led the group for several years, and preparing each week created built-in accountability for me to be taking time each day to focus on Jesus.   After moving to a new area, I am not leading anymore, so my quiet time has become very irregular.  A close friend and a new client both encouraged me within 24 hours of each other to start a regular Bible reading plan.  I found one that has Old and New Testament scriptures each day at BibleGateway.com, but they have several plans to choose from.  Today, I am on Day 2.  Please pray with me for consistency, and if you want to join me in reading, let me know.

Fighting For Freedom

Benjamin Cleveland was an imposing man - six feet tall and over three hundred pounds, earning the nickname Old Roundabout.  He was born in Virginia, but later moved to Wilkes County, North Carolina, where he enlisted in the military.  Benjamin rose through the ranks becoming a colonel in 1777.  In 1780, Benjamin led the patriots to victory over the loyalists at Kings Mountain, which is considered a key victory in the Revolutionary War.  After the war, Benjamin moved to Oconee County, South Carolina and lived on the Tugaloo River.  He was buried there in 1806.  It is fortunate his grave site is on a ridge, because the Tugaloo River, which feeds the Savannah River, was dammed by the US Army Corps of Engineers  in 1960 and is now a part of Lake Hartwell.   His grave site is still there.  I was fortunate to work with the recent owners of the private estate where Benjamin's grave site is located.  They hired me to find the next owners for the 113 acre parcel.  I was thrilled that Pine Cove Camps in Tyler, TX chose that property for their first camp on the east coast.  Pine Cove offers summer camps for families instead of just for kids.  Instead of dropping your kids off at camp, parents get to stay, and there are activities and learning where parents and kids are both together and separate.  Pine Cove's mission is to bring families closer to Jesus, helping them to learn to fight for the freedom that is only possible through Him.  Happy Independence Day. 

 

(Photo: Benjamin Cleveland homesite on Tugaloo River prior to 1960 when Hartwell Dam was built.)