"Sinkholes"

 

“Sinkholes”

 

Because of the nature of its terrain Florida is susceptible to a geological phenomenon known as sinkholes. (Polk County where we live is particularly vulnerable.) Simply stated, a sinkhole is “a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer.” (Wikipedia). Some of our county’s 554 natural lakes have their origins with sinkholes but the actual number is uncertain. In Lakeland 37 reports of sinkholes were documented between 1909 and 2008 according to county records. So sinkholes and hurricanes are historically the most prevalent natural disasters Floridians must be prepared for.

On May 8, 1981 a sinkhole opened up in Winter Park, just east of Orlando. It grew to 320 feet wide and 90 feet deep, swallowed up numerous vehicles, a house and other articles and caused between $2 and $4 million in damage. But after the destruction the hole filled up with water and is now known as Lake Rose, a scenic part of the Winter Park community.

As I read about this transformation I thought of how God can take the struggles, tragedies and hurts of life and turn them into things of beauty. God’s prophet said, “…He will give you beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of despair.” (Isaiah 61:3, NLT). He’s done this in my life (see the recent article “A Personal Gilgal”) so I write from my own experience. This shouldn’t surprise us because Paul reminds us that “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him….” (Romans 8:28, emphasis added). Around 1700 BC Joseph told his brothers who’d sold him into slavery in Egypt that “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Genesis 50:20). So God can take ugly circumstances (like sinkholes) and turn them into something attractive (like Lake Rose).

In 1971 Bill and Gloria Gaither wrote these words which have been sung and experienced by thousands:

“Something beautiful, something good, All my confusion He understood.

All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife, But He made something beautiful of my life.”

Have you let God make something beautiful out of your life’s sinkholes?

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan