Storms

Katie Jo and I were coloring and I was letting my mind wonder. Of course, Janie Beth crossed it! :) I thought of her as we started coloring because I will never get to color with her. But, then I started to think about storms.

Our pastor has been preaching about storms the last 2 Sundays and he is one more Sunday. Last night we had a good old fashioned thunderstorm. As I was pondering storms, I realized that every part in the storm that is scary is also a blessing. How crazy is that!?! Crazy enough that God did it!! :) The lightning crackle is loud and scary and the cloud to ground lightning is pretty creepy looking. But, you know what it does for you if you are out in it? It lights the way, even if just for a second, it will give enough light to show you the next step to take or the next shelter to move to. The thunder is loud and can make your heart skip if you aren't prepared for it. But, you know what it does for you? You can count from the lightning strike to the thunder to know how far away the storm is. Isn't it great to know if you are in the center of it or on the outskirts! You feel a little safer when you know you aren't in the center. It lets you know that the storm is moving and won't be there forever, and you may be able to tell which way you need to go to out of the storm. The wind is wild and crazy! You can feel it and see what it does to the things around it, but you never actually see the wind itself. The wind is like God. You can feel Him and see what He does in people, but you never actually see God Himself, you see His effect. How awesome!!!

We are walking in a storm in many ways. But, God gives us lightning strikes to show us the next step to take or which way His shelter is. He gives us glimpses of blessing that show that the storm is moving, and not staying right over us. God gives us direction through reading His word. The Bible is the thunder and shows us which way to go to get out of the storm. God is the wind that is changing us. We can feel His presence just as we can feel the wind, and I pray that others can see the change in me that the Wind is doing. And there is always the promise of blue skies. They are just behind the clouds that are producing the storm. The only way to make it through the storm is to hide in the shelter of the Almighty! He will guide us through it or help us soar on wings above it. :) I am going to let God decide the route we will take through the storm. If I choose, then I will miss out on His blessings and the changes that the Wind makes.

Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage for the Lord your God is with you."