9/1/26

These days, we have had more than our share of “man-made disasters.”  The war in Ukraine has caused 2 million casualties.  Estimates of losses related to the “Iranian war” are hard to find.  But numbers in the thousands are considered reasonable.  That is to say nothing about the ongoing brutal Gaza/Israel conflict.

The sheer number of casualties in these “man-made disasters" overshadows the casualties attributed to “natural disasters.”  For example, the earthquakes in Venezuela.  While many more are still missing.  At the time of writing, 6,500 people are confirmed to have died in the two quakes that hit the nation in late June.

Eighty percent of the buildings in the capital were knocked down.  58,000 buildings were classified as uninhabitable.  Leaving 24,000 people seeking shelter where they could.

Ericka forwarded a story to me of one survivor.  Actually, two.  Dayana Patino and her 18 day old son, Juan David, were on the 18th floor of their apartment building when the first quake hit.

Dayana describes the sensation of colliding with furniture as she was flying through the air.  The whole time Dayana clung tightly to her newborn.  When the pair landed, they landed on a Bible.

30 hours later, Dayana heard the voice of her brother and called out to him.  Soon a long straw with water was snaked down to Juan David.  Then rescue efforts began.  Eventually, mother and son were extracted from the wrecked building.  While Dayana suffered a broken knee, Juan David did not have a scratch.

If you ask Dayana what saved her, she will list two things.  First, she drew life and hope from her infant son.  “As long as he was alive, I had to live.” 

Second, Dayana does not dismiss the fact that for 30 hours she and Juan David laid upon an open Bible.  We often talk about “Standing on the Word of God.”  That is not an exact quote from the Bible but the idea is clear enough in scripture.

2 Thessalonians 2:15: "So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you." 

The Bible is not a magic talisman that provides divine protection to those who hold it.  Plenty of people have died with a Bible in their hands.  But occasionally, an epiphany comes along to remind us we can stand firmly on the Word, even as the world shakes.  I guess we can lie firmly on it, also.