[1]It’s Hurricane season! In 1992 Hurricane Andrew left behind devastation beyond our imaginations. The lessons learned resulted in Florida developing and adopting new standards for building codes in 2002. Included in the code was a wind-borne debris region, which requires certain homes to have door and window protections up to 120 mph. The code also established new standards for roofing, created more thorough inspection processes and required that products used in home construction meet approved hurricane standards.
These new Codes were tested in 2004 by hurricanes Charley, Ivan, Frances and Jeanne. In 2005, University of Florida researchers studied the differences in damage between older and newer homes, comparing 200 randomly selected homes that were in the path of the highest wind zones generated by the hurricanes. The study concluded that
homes built under the 2002 Florida Building Code sustained less damage on average than homes built between 1994 and 2001 under the Standard Building Code. Homes built before 1994 also fared worse than those built after that
year.
Did you know that we are the result of an even more wondrous building code? In today’s first reading, St. Paul calls our attention to the incredible building code God used and continues to use in forming his people through our
lives. Everything we are, everything we do, all the forces we withstand—all give evidence to how carefully God has crafted the Code. Like a master builder, he has built us with great precision and fortified us with his own divine grace, and what a marvel we are!
There’s more marvelous news: God isn’t done! Through the grace of his sacraments, he continues to make us stronger and steadier. Day after day, he infuses us with the gifts of his Holy Spirit so we can withstand any gale force winds that might come against us. Through the witness and encouragement of our brothers and sisters in Christ, he continues to teach us how to adapt to the barometric pressures of temptation without snapping or
crumbling.
We are a marvel of God’s handiwork! We are far stronger than we think, far more flexible than we think and we are far more capable than we think. We have “the strength for everything through him who empowers” (Phil 4:13) us!
In meeting today’s challenges, pray for the situation, not in “self-confidence,” but “God-confidence.” God has built us with his perfect code for the mission he has assigned us to do. Remember, Christ is with us, he is in us, and he is more than able to work through us.[2]
[1] New American Bible, Saint Joseph Edition. © 1986. Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 3:4-11; Psalms
99:5-9; Matthew 5:17-19.
[2] The Word Among Us. June 2017 Issue.
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