During the course of last night, lines of big supercells passed through the regions of the United States, including here in Kentucky. Ironically enough, with all the stormy weather, we saw less than an inch of rain. However, the threat was pretty severe. The first line of supercells passed through around 7:00 or so, and that particular storm’s center was no more than a quarter of a mile away from our apartment. It was quite amazing to watch a funnel cloud develop above you (though it never hit the ground) and still be able to see through it to clear blue skies. Really weird I must say.
However, prior to this storm/tornado making it to our apartment, it passed by the seminary, where news reporters mentioned was hardest hit. Later in the evening as my wife and I were watching the late night news, we were stunned to see that one of our close friends, Sean Gould, had a tree fall on his car! Sean is okay, but it was reported that a number of trees had fallen on the roadway, one of them landing on his vehicle. Here is what the Louisville Courier-Journal had to say about it:
Sean Gould, a student at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, was rushing home from work to “beat the storm” when he saw out of the corner of his eye a tree begin to tumble over his car on Lexington Road as he approached the intersection with Morningside Drive.
Gould, 27, said he wasn’t really scared — he put his faith in God.
The tree smashed his car and completely covered Lexington Road, but Gould he escaped without injury.
“He’s the giver of life,” Gould said of his savior a few minutes after the accident. “I’m very thankful.”
When I heard that a tree had landed on a car close to the seminary, I mentioned to Dusti that I wondered if it was someone from the seminary. Lo and behold, it was my buddy Sean. While I am sad to see what the tree did to his car, of all the people this could happen to, I am glad it happened to Sean. You see, there are some people who, when the frown of providence comes their way, the smile of God’s grace is on their face. As you can see in the news report, it was there for Sean. Pointing people to Jesus in the midst of a terrible situation where all the attention could easily (and rightfully) be focused on you is something that comes only when God possesses your uppermost thoughts and deepest affections. And this, no seminary education can teach!
So thank you, Sean, for demonstrating what a life submitted to the sovereignty of God looks likes in the midst of life-threatening circumstances and loss. And thank you, Lord, for entrusting such matters of providence to your children who turn them into opportunities to make Jesus famous.
“You see, there are some people who, when the frown of providence comes their way, the smile of God’s grace is on their face. As you can see in the news report, it was there for Sean. ”
Very encouraging thanks Tim. This does become a discipleship tool with his (and others’) children.
Perhaps we should start up an online car fund for Sean at Said at Southern. It worked for Steve McCoy, didn’t it?
Adam,
It’s funny that you thought that too. I talked with Tony early Friday, and plans were on the way that afternoon to do just that. However, I talked with Sean before going forward with the online fund, and he share with me that his vehicle (which is totaled) will be covered fully by his car insurance agency. That is not to say there would not be an additional expenses, however. Nevertheless, after talking with Sean, we agreed to hold off on the online fund for now as he does not see that it is necessary.
That is not to say, of course, that such a fund could become necessary in the future. But for now, I am going to leave that to Sean’s discretion.
As far as Steve goes, it indeed work well – something to the tune of $12,000 if I remember correctly. That was wonderful to watch and participate in. Should the Lord prompt something like that to happen again, I believe God’s people would rise to the occasion once again.
Oh, that’s good to hear. It was refreshing to see Sean represent the school and Christ as he has.