The storm has passed. The cold wind blows stoutly outside still, but it’s dying down. I have to wake Gus, the three-legged farm dog, up before I’m off to bed shortly. It’s 10:45 pm on Sunday night and the cold front has billowed in. Rain, thunder, lightning and winds all flew by in a few hours. It left a quiet house, but for the snoring of Gus and the over-active wind chime outside (Gma telling us to have flashlights and candles ready, I imagine) sounding the “hey, it’s windy!” alert. It passed us without incident. I’m genuinely thankful that God saw fit to see us through without damage or injury, but I know there will be some out there that weren’t blessed in the same way. God be with you, is my prayer.
I used to wonder why God works the way He does, with some people in pain and turmoil and others in peace and safety. It just never seemed fair to me. One person could go their entire life and never even get a broken bone, while a small child may be struck with some illness that debilitates and destroys their bodies with much pain. Even as a child, I wondered “why me?” over even the tiniest slight that I perceived was enforced upon me, when other kids had lost parents, or had other truly traumatic events affect their entire family. My self-centeredness was just a byproduct of my youth, I know now. I’m pleased to say that I outgrew that attitude. It came through years of good, and bad, times that matured my thinking, and years of bible reading and teaching that pointed to the simple fact that “He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:45) In the words of the young people: it is what it is.
Most folks in our family love a good storm. We’re funny like that. Had it not been for the stout winds that almost took the screen door off the hinges, we might’ve all been outside watching the storm roll in tonight. Tree limbs don’t discriminate, however, when forty-mile-an-hour winds send them sailing, so we stayed in the house with our medicated dogs. They appreciated it. Discretion is the better part of valor, or so Shakespear said.
I don’t know what storm will roll in next, since thunderstorm and tornado season is upon us. I trust God will see us through, no matter if they skip over my family or go through them. I do know that whatever the case may be, we will still know that God is in control. Just because I don’t understand it doesn’t make it any less true. My fervent prayer for all of you tonight, as these winds howl and it sounds like God’s wrath outside, is that you and your family will endure safely. It’s the same thing I pray for my own loved ones. If, on reading this, you’ve found yourself, or if I’ve found myself for that matter, abused and injured by life, weather and circumstances, just know that the Man Upstairs sees you. Trust that He loves you and knows what He’s doing. We may not understand, but He does. Hold fast.
God bless Y’all
Rolling Stones 