Tag: destruction

Posted in Home improvement

Tear it down and start over

Posted on by William Douthwaite

“Did they put the pool in first? I’ve never seen that before.”

“And look, there’s an AC air handler and a paver driveway.”

“Wait a minute. this is where that house was. You know, the one torn up by the tornado.”

I went back through my dog walking photos and found these crazy pics from last fall, when a tornado spun off from some strong thunderstorms last fall. No one was in the yellow house when the twister tore the roof off. It sat there roofless for six months before anything happened.

And then suddenly, one day, it was gone. At a time where lots are cleared and new homes go up every week, this is an unusual sight. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a block home demolished in preparation for new construction. I’ll bet it’s expensive to demo a home, remove the debris, and start over. There was one house around the block that was destroyed in a fire. But they rebuilt it after stripping it down to the block and foundation. Construction is supposed to withstand 150 mph hurricane winds. Clearly you don’t want to mess with a tornado.

I didn’t see any permits, so I don’t know what’s going to happen next. I suppose you would feel secure living in the next house built here. After all, what are the odds of the same home in Florida being hit by a second tornado?

Posted in Life

That mailbox didn’t have a chance

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Red marker next to mailbox? Check.

Reflective sticker affixed to the post? Check.

Post firmly embedded in the ground? Check.

Obnoxious, clearly noticeable color? Check.

When I saw the remains of this mailbox on a walk around the neighborhood, I thought, “There’s got to be a great story here.” A little tap from a car backing out of a driveway didn’t do this. A hurried mail carrier didn’t slam the door too hard. I don’t think we’ve had any earthquakes in Florida lately. Someone nailed this mailbox. They showed no mercy. They took it out.

  • The lawn guy was late. For what, I don’t know. He slammed the gate shut on the trailer, jumped in the truck and floored it. The trailer began to fishtail back and forth, almost out of control, until it swung through the mailbox. “What the heck was that?” Glancing in the mirror, he saw it and skidded to a stop. Looking up and down the street and seeing no one, the lawn guy carefully stacked the pieces and took off, a little slower this time.
  • He was pissed. The neighbor’s dog had visited his yard one too many times. Enough is enough. “I knew that baseball bat would come in handy.” He didn’t take any warmup swings. It was like swinging at a fastball right down the middle. It was the most satisfying hit of his life.
  • “Watch out, you’re too close to the side of the road.” “I know mom, I know…oh my gosh, what was that?” “I’m going to let your father teach you how to drive.”
  • “A backup camera? I don’t need no d*** backup camera.”

Most of the mailboxes on our street look like junk. Anything that gets them replaced is a good thing.

Posted in Grace, Life

Looking forward to annihilation?

Posted on by William Douthwaite

duck-and-cover-drillI’m not quite old enough to remember the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. By the time I began school there were no more civil defense drills when you had to find the closest fallout shelter or hide under your desk.

But with the recent addition of North Korea to the list of countries with nuclear weapons, the potential of war, catastrophic loss of life and even global annihilation are once on the table. But the specter of worldwide destruction and death are nothing new, at least for those who have spent a little time in the Bible.

When creation is quite young, the consequences of Adam and Eve’s disobedience were felt throughout the world. It’s amazing and chilling to read that early on the Lord regretted he had made people. It didn’t take long till “every intention of the thoughts of [peoples] hearts were only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). Ponder that for a moment. Every good and decent thought and intent had been replaced by that which was evil and destructive.

The treatment plan is severs. God resolves to wipe out life from the face of the earth with a flood, and begin again. By grace, he saved eight people — Noah, his three sons and their wives — in an ark filled with animals.

It doesn’t really solve the problem, though, and Jesus spoke of a future time one heaven and earth would pass away (Mark 13:31). Complete annihilation. Once again, God would begin again with a new heaven and a new earth, populated by those whose lives were saved, this time by a Savior’s death and resurrection.

Now here’s the fascinating part. Jesus said, “Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28). While the world runs for the hills, the church knows that the new can only arrive when the old is gone. Our ears perk up when we hear predictions of disaster, death and destruction. Like coastal communities gathering for hurricane parties before the storm approaches, we gather for worship to anticipate the old giving way to the new in our baptism, in the church and finally in the whole of creation.

It’s going to happen one day. But it hasn’t happened yet. So we’ve got today, an opportunity to live, to be grateful, and to share the hope we have in Christ, our Savior through whatever happens next.