Summer Storm

We experienced our second summer thunder and lightning storm yesterday.  I guess that is still a novelty for me since our just north of San Francisco West Coast weather patterns did not allow for this type of demonstration by the elements.  Then again, I have always enjoyed a good rain storm!  I hate to admit it, but as a kid I was fascinated when it rained like crazy for days to the point when the local river would overflow its banks.  I still remember the Christmas Flood of 1964 that devastated many of the river communities from our home county up to the Oregon border.  Many of the little towns were either never rebuilt or ever returned to their former state.  We would be reminded of this catastrophic event every time we would go camping up in the Redwoods as the economy of the area was permanently affected.  Wherever you would go, you could (and still can) see visible signs of the carnage.

A more humorous memory is the time my future wife and I were walking to class at the Santa Rosa Junior College in 1972 in the midst of a winter downpour.  I was trying my best to be gallant and shield my girl from the worst of the pouring rain by keeping her covered by the umbrella (as I got soaked…) when a strong gust of wind grabbed at my hat and unceremoniously dropped it in a huge puddle and at the same time blew my trusty umbrella inside out leaving it in a rather grotesque shape! 

Well, needless to say it was a wild scene as everyone around us got a giant opportunity to laugh at us!  But you know… it was kind of funny!  I must have been quite a sight as my normally curly hair (yes folks… my hair was thick and curly when I was young!) lay flat on my head and my strikingly beautiful girlfriend looked like a drowned rat!  I can’t remember a time when Piper and I laughed so hard at our misfortune as we stood in the middle of that walkway in the midst of the deluge bent over with glee!

Yesterday’s storm was unique to me as it suddenly got very dark… just like it was night even though it was only 5:00 pm.  It wasn’t scary or anything like that to me, in fact I had my camera out and was trying my best to capture a frame or two of the lightning.  I did though, have a thought in the midst of it that we are not alone.  That Jesus the living Word is with us and that His light is always present to illuminate our path.  And even though it suddenly became like the night, His light was still present on the scene and would not allow the darkness to prevail. 

John’s words in the first chapter of his epistle saying “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5 English Standard Version) came to mind and its significance was very real to me as I got wet standing in our patio as the wind blew the rain, and the thunder boomed around me.  Ha!  Even the dog deserted me to the comfort and security under the table in the kitchen.

It seems like the daily summer time weather forecast around here always includes “a chance of thunderstorms.”  I think that we could probably say the same thing for the daily forecast of our lives.  There is always a chance for a storm to hit, but we don’t have to be afraid about it, knowing that the Light of our lives is always present with us and that His Light will illuminate our way and not allow the elements to overcome us.  Have a great day!  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What or Whom am I expecting today?”