On March 18, 1937 at 3:05 pm over 500 students and teachers went about their routines at the New London TX High School. Moments later 300 of them would be in eternity.
A natural gas leak under the building had filled the crawl space with the explosive gas which ignited when a teacher turned on a sanding machine. The explosion leveled the building killing the majority of students and teachers inside.
As a result of that tragedy, laws were passed that required natural gas, which is odorless, to have a chemical added so leaks could be smelled. It was a good law but it came too late for those Texas school children. That tragic incident many years ago can serve as a reminder to us today of the danger of not considering what can go wrong and taking action to prevent it.
Proverbs says a wise man foresees evil. Taking time to act on potential threats instead of cleaning up after a disaster is a better way to redeem the time.
Rick Grubbs is best known as the host of “Redeeming the Time,” a one-minute radio program featured on hundreds of radio outlets around the world. He has spoken thousands of times on Biblical time management in all 50 states and 26 other countries. He is the author of the book “Morning Momentum: God’s plan for launching an unstoppable day”. He and his wife Carrie live in Salisbury NC with several of their 12 children.
