Psalm 77:18 "The sound of your thunder was in the whirlwind; the lightnings lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook."
Some people love thunderstorms.........I am really not one of them! I am one that tends to count the seconds between the thunder and lightning trying to decipher the distance, while praying for God's protection and mercy!
We had a severe thunderstorm one night during our camping trip. Believing we needed to be in a safer place, we ran through the deluge of rain to the car with pillows and blankets in hand! Burlin was able to use his blackberry to check the weather station.....we were in for a very long night of nasty weather! I was very thankful that we had driven the van........but even with the extra room, it was uncomfortable after a while! (How quickly we get spoiled!) We cracked the windows enough to keep fresh air flowing, and placed a shirt on the door to absorb the water that leaked in!
We were just getting to sleep when the ranger stopped at our campsite to let us know there were tornado sightings just ten miles away! You can imagine what happened once the "t" word was mentioned...........three children were suddenly wide awake, looking at the sky, and scared! I have to admit I kept watching the sky myself every time the wind picked up....though I was not sure what I would do if I spotted anything!
Nahum 1:7 "The Lord is good; a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in Him..."
As I shared with my children fear can (and should) cause us to seek God! It should cause us to call out to Him. For me, thunderstorms are a reminder that I am not the one in control, but God is! He is sovereign and loving, and whatever He allows to happen is for His glory and my good. It is a good opportunity to examine my heart, confess my sin, and renew my trust in Him.
Though I would have preferred a "rain free" week of camping, this undesired thunderstorm opened an opportunity to talk to my children about the Lord, and their relationship with Him!
It was also a great lesson in rejoicing in our circumstances even if they are unpleasant or painful: with such a torrential downpour and high winds, the tent leaked causing the sleeping bags and some clothing to become wet! Of course, "this is all part of the camping experience!"
After cleaning the tent, we opened the windows for the day to help everything dry out.
We draped clothes and sleeping bags everywhere we could to dry out!
With our present circumstances, we decided this would be a great time to make a Wal-Mart run in Iron Mountain, and spend the day sight-seeing!
Wow! THis was an exciting post! It also reminds me of why I DON'T LIKE Camping! :) It also reminds me of what happened to us when we were camping in Arizona . . . . but the kids need/want the laptop, so I will tell you about it later! :)
ReplyDeleteI never got to finish commenting earlier! I was going to share about the time Alan left us all camping in the desert of AZ and flew to GA for his interview with Lee County.
ReplyDeleteWe were in the pop up and really bad thunderstorm came up with very high winds. The tent collapsed so the boys came into the camper with us, but the camper was rocking back and forth, and we were all really scared! We tried to play a game to keep our minds off of it, but we couldn't concentrate.
So, I gathered everyone around and read Scriptures and prayed. I opened to Psalm 91 and as I read this verse jumped out at me: "Because you have made the Lord your refuge and the Most High your dwelling place, there shall no evil befall you, nor any plague or calamity come near your tent." Psalm 91:9-10, Amplified. It was so REASSURING! I felt sure that the Lord was speaking just to us! I really felt Him telling me that no harm would befall us, and was able to relax and go to sleep.
Just thought I'd share, since your post reminded me of that occasion.