Susan LaffertyImages of blue sky and a raging torrent of destruction fill my screen in recent days.
Bringing back memories.
There was blue sky when a tsunami roared into Aceh. Then pulled out. Taking with it precious lives along with whole buildings.
Today these scenes are not a coastal city, but a mountain haven.
Nepal. Villages built along the meandering river wiped out in a matter of minutes.
Exiles in Babylon.
God’s Word to them felt deeply personal to us. During a particularly violent and unsettling season.
People were leaving our city. Families sent back to their home countries. Anti-American sentiment had ramped up more than ever.
Should we leave?
At one point my dad—who never, ever tried to interfere or direct us in any way—wrote “In my daily Bible study I keep seeing the words, ‘Flee Babylon…flee Babylon.” (Jeremiah 49:30; 50:8,16; 51:6)
“Of all the places you’ve lived, which one is your favorite?”
It was a casual conversation and a question I’ve been asked many times. Impossible to answer.
So I said the usual: “There’s something special about each one.”
But over the next days I reflected on the significance of place in our lives. What is it that lodges a certain location in our hearts and minds?
And I began to notice place in God’s Word.
