March 29, 1848, is the date Niagara Falls stopped flowing due to an ice jam. It was first noticed by a farmer who was walking near it shortly before midnight. He didn’t hear the familiar roar, so he walked over to investigate and found the ice. When people down river woke up the next morning, they didn’t know what had happened. Mills and factories ground to a halt. Fish and water life died. Theories abounded, and thousands filled the churches to pray. Eventually, communication arrived from Buffalo that explained why the river had stopped flowing. No water flowed until the night of March 31 when the sound of a loud rumble came from the river above the falls. A wall of water came roaring down the river and over the falls. Niagara River was running again.
The phenomenon of the frozen falls seems especially appropriate to remember when we hear 24/7 news reports of the ongoing pandemic, as well as out of the ordinary weather events. This too shall pass.
God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways;
he does great things beyond our understanding.
He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’
and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’
_Job 37: 5-6
~N
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