Storms of Life

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July 23-24
Psalm 107:28-30
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper;
the waves of the sea[a] were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven.

Yesterday, I noticed a boat struggling to pull into its slip. The water was rough as a storm was brewing. A beach ball flew from the boat and headed out the cove to the main channel. You could hear the child onboard cry out for his ball. Within minutes thunder, lightening, blinding rain, hail and high winds abounded and this boat driver had to abandon his efforts and just pull up alongside a nearby dock, tie off and run for shelter. The rain was so heavy I could no longer see the boat, but screamed for my husband as I looked up to see the winds swirling the top of our trees in circular motion and large limbs and even halves of trees come crashing down. The dock and patio furniture went flying as well. A large cushion flew across the entire patio past our windows. I cried out, "Lord, protect us and this house!" My mind flashed to the Wizard of Oz and how Dorothy felt when her house took flight. In a matter of moments our plans for that evening and the next few days were changed.

Over the years I've answered phone calls which rocked my world instantaneously...your brother has drown, your nephew has cancer, your mother has cancer, your son has been in a serious accident and you must come now. The severity of those times brought about a protective covering from God, which seemed to anesthetize me...like when in the eye of the storm. Then that wears off, like for us this morning, and you have to get up and get out and face the recovery process.

We are never alone in the storms of life. God is always present and his angels are watching over us. We give thanks this morning that there is no structural damage to the buildings on our property. It could have been much, much worse. We are also very thankful there is not a wedding, a party or a church service at Shiloh today. I do wish our strong house guests with teenage boys, who were here last weekend, were here or that an angel with a chainsaw, truck and chipper would appear. My poor husband has been out all morning with his chainsaw and is drenched in sweat.

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