Weather storms/non-weather storms

Death and taxes---said to be two things we can count on.

I would add one more...storms of various types and sizes.

There are those we pray for...we need the moisture,
   or
    we /want a snow vacation from school or work...

     Memories from childhood are made of those "snow" days, cooped up in the small house, wood stove blazing, and eight kids running wild because of the barametric lows.  My mother always said she knew when one of the "big" storms was coming because of all the craziness.

    Then there are the storms we pray will miss us...like "Sandy."  Huge, menacing, and certain as we prepare and wait for the dreaded arrival or as we run to higher, calmer places. Even as we pray for a lessening of the storm's strength, we get ready to face the worst...blankets, water, flashlights, battery operated radios, canned food to eat cold, games and our Bibles.

    My years in South Dakota included weather storms....rain...12-15 inches at one time....but worse...snow and wind together that made time stand still. Nothing but white out all the windows.  Nothing but white in front of doors.  Sometimes lasting for several days.  But I learned to be ready...food in the pantry...water in the bathtub to flush toilets a couple times a day...water in gallon jugs to drink....flashlights, oil lamps, blankets to cover doors and windows in one room to keep all the heat in, books to read in the daylight, down coats with warm, warm mittens and hats and boots and of course shovels, shovels for every single person in the family. Ahhhhh......the pleasure of the day after and having survived. I remember a T-shirt..."Survived the Winter of '98."

    There are other storms....the kind that the weatherman does not warn us of, the kind that we tend not to prepare for because we like to think, "That will never happen to me.".

    But life storms come... so how do we prepare for those storms...ones that take our breath away, ones that  lead us to say, "Will this never end?" or as we look up, "Enough, all ready..."

   Storms that "I" can't prepare for...but God can.  He is always ready for what He knows is coming and he gets us ready....one step at a time because He knows we are frail, we are weak and He knows exactly His purpose and plan for each one of us and for His people--to bring glory and honor and praise to His name.

There is no supplying of huge pieces of plywood to put over the windows....to block my view, instead God enlarges my view.....of HIM. He cleans the windows; He even pulls back the curtains and raises the shades. He wants us to understand, to see and learn that I can trust Him.  His Spirit within me, given to me at my rebirth, reminds me of what Jesus said, of what Jesus taught. He enables me to see more and more of God in my life--through creation, through provision of needs, through people in my life that He put there and through the "storms" big and little, He brings the good.

There are no trips to the grocery store for water and bread; instead, he leads me to the living water, to the living bread that will never run out. But not only does he become my water and bread but He gives me a thirst, a hunger for both....for Him.  Eating that bread and drinking of His water enables me to know and taste Truth, His Truth.

And so thanking God for his blessings in my life today that prepared me for the storms that have come and will come, I thank HIM for:

*the Gospel"
*faith to believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ
*The Spirit that dwells within me 24-7, even when I forget
*the "storms," little ones that teach me about God's Steadfast Love and Faithfulness
*the trust that He built within me as I saw Him answer prayer, give blessings and graces through the loving husband he brought me and the three babies he gave us
*the desire He put within me to know Him, to grow in Him, to love others
*the Bible verses that He led me to memorize as a child and as a young adult that would become the foundation for my trust when the doubts came
*the people and circumstances He planned and carried out as part of the plan to bring glory to Himself
*His presence that has always been there, enabling me to trust when the "perfect storms" came...His perfect storm in His perfect time and His perfect plan

And so as God helps me, gives me the desire to, and does His work in me for His glory,
By His grace He will lead me to...
WALK in the Spirit
   Be LED by the Spirit
       LIVE by the Spirit.

Psalm  57:1 "Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by."


You might also enjoy "When it rains, it pours", an earlier post.