Just over two weeks ago, the Category 5 hurricane Dorian devastated the northern islands of the Bahamas. “Dorian was the most powerful hurricane on record to hit the Bahamas… with wind gusts topping 320 kph (200 mph)” (Deutsche Welle, September 7, 2019). Recent reports indicate some 50 people have died, and that number is expected to rise.

“Chicken” is a game where two people challenge each other to see who will quit or back down first. Historian and writer Niall Ferguson referred to this game to build an insightful analogy in his recent commentary in The Times (August 25, 2019). Professor Ferguson wrote, “Games of chicken are all around these days.

Research just published in the highly respected journal Science contains findings that will be shocking to many. In a genome-association study of nearly 500,000 people in the U.S., U.K., and Sweden, researchers concluded, “No individual gene alone makes a person gay, lesbian or bisexual; instead, thousands of genes likely influence sexual orientation” (Live Science, August 29, 2019).

Just over a week ago, Israel attacked Iranian forces based in Syria. An Israeli military statement following the attack noted, “The strike targeted Iranian Quds Force operatives and Shiite militias which were preparing to advance attack plans targeting sites in Israel from within Syria over the last number of days” (Reuters, August 24, 2019).

Why do we ladies in God’s Church often find ourselves the recipient of some mild disaster around the Holy Days? Why does God allow us to suffer through these trials? What does experiencing these tribulations teach us? And how does Christ’s example teach us to deal with our trials and suffering?