“At this my heart pounds and leaps from its place. Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice, to the rumbling that comes from his mouth. He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven and sends it to the ends of the earth. After that comes the sound of his roar; he thunders with his majestic voice. When his voice resounds, he holds nothing back. God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’ So that all men he has made may know his work, he stops every man from his labor. The animals take cover; they remain in their dens. The tempest comes out from its chamber, the cold from the driving winds. The breath of God produces ice, and the broad waters become frozen. He loads the clouds with moisture; he scatters his lightning through them. At his direction they swirl around over the face of the whole earth to do whatever he commands them. He brings the clouds to punish men, or to water his earth and show his love. “Listen to this, Job; stop and consider God’s wonders. Do you know how God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash? Do you know how the clouds hang poised, those wonders of him who is perfect in knowledge? You who swelter in your clothes when the land lies hushed under the south wind, can you join him in spreading out the skies, hard as a mirror of cast bronze? “Tell us what we should say to him; we cannot draw up our case because of our darkness. Should he be told that I want to speak? Would any man ask to be swallowed up? Now no one can look at the sun, bright as it is in the skies after the wind has swept them clean. Out of the north he comes in golden splendor; God comes in awesome majesty. The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power; in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress. Therefore, men revere him, for does he not have regard for all the wise in heart? Job 37 (NIV)
On this first day of the new year, I awoke to the sound of thunder. It came in from the Gulf, loud and crashing like a wave. Following in its wake, the steady drumbeat of rain on the roof tempted me to stay in bed. Worried about the horses, I jumped up and pulled some shorts on under my nightshirt. I need not have feared. After dodging rain drops on the way to the barn, I discovered them snug and cozy in their stalls. They knew enough not to stand in the pasture with lightning crashing around them and they trusted me to know that eventually, I would make my way out to give them their breakfast. After feeding them their grain, I mucked stalls and left them contently chewing on a New Year’s treat of morning hay. Fans blowing the sand gnats away, fresh buckets of water and a roof to keep them dry, they had no cares. I on the other hand, went back into the house and started taking Christmas down. While everyone else slept late, I started the process of taking ornaments off the tree and packing them back into their boxes. As I removed them, each one reminded me of something that happened in the past. Ornaments commemorating marriage and birth, new homes and career changes, hobbies and activities. The soccer ornament was bought the year that my oldest son was on the traveling soccer team. Later, a coach made a tough decision to cut him from the team. We were all hurt and upset, but it freed up time for him to join Civil Air Patrol which kept him occupied all through his teenage years and helped to shape him into the man that he is becoming. Another ornament, dated the year that our youngest started pre kindergarten, made my stomach clinch. He hated school and the classroom became a place of misery and pain for him. Twenty-five years flashed by as one by one, I took the ornaments off the tree. As I packed them up, my mind wandered. Where would I be eleven months from now when it was time to unpack them once more? What would the year bring? Might a hurricane force us to evacuate our home? What about a fire or tornado? Might something happen to someone I love in the coming months? Fear wormed its way to the surface until I reminded myself that though I do not know what the future holds, God does and though He is all powerful, He is also kind and loving. The same God who created the rain and thunder that persisted all day long, cares for me and wants the best for me. He will take the painful moments and turn them into good. Like my horses, I need to have enough sense to come in out of the rain, into His loving shelter and trust Him to take care of me no matter what the next year may bring.
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