Winter Storm Warning!

Yesterday turned out to be a pretty busy day.  By the time it came to prepare dinner I was bushed!  So I asked for the Lord’s help for the task ahead and began to sing some praise songs as I slugged through the process.  I actually cheated a little and had previously bought a frozen Chicken Alfredo dinner for the main course thinking that I might not be too excited about cooking that night.  After a while I had the broccoli cooking, Piper’s protein shake mixed, the pasta in the oven and the dog fed.  Then I looked forward to a few moments of quiet solitude to relax until the food was ready.

Suddenly out of the blue the phone rang… and I must confess, I was not a happy camper at that moment!  I looked up to my wife watching me in the kitchen and exclaimed, “Who would be calling at 6:00 pm just as we’re getting ready to eat?”  We had received a phone call late the night before as I was helping Piper get ready for bed from someone on the West Coast and for some reason I thought that it might be them calling again.

So I dramatically dragged my feet to the table where the phone was and had to repent as I noticed that it was our daughter calling!  Her cheerful “Hi Dad!” immediately cooled my jets and put a smile on my face.  She was at the store and was calling to see if Piper and I needed anything while she was there…

Throughout the day, the weather apps on our phones, the Raleigh TV stations as well as the different radio stations we listened to were broadcasting a special “Winter Storm Warning” going into effect from 6:00 that evening and lasting through noon today.  They were predicting snow showers and freezing rain throughout the night with an accumulation of 6-8 inches.  That’s quite a bit more than the last two fronts that came through.  With that warning in mind, my wife and I made a trip to the store around 1:00 in the afternoon to stock up on a few items.  We actually were okay except that we needed some more ice cream for Piper’s evening protein shakes.  But you know how it goes… we walked out of Target with a cart of stuff and a receipt for $166.00!

I shouldn’t have been, but I was somewhat surprised when we drove up to the store and observed that the parking lot was fairly full and once inside that many of the shelves were empty.  By the time Jamie got off of work and went to the Super Walmart near their home, she said the parking lot was absolutely jam packed!  We were on the phone while she circled the lot looking for a vacant parking spot!

I had to laugh a little as I was reminded, as we talked about the crowd, about last week’s episode of Marvel’s “Agent Carter” where the bad girl Russian Secret Agent had set off some poisonous gas in a crowded theater that caused everyone to go crazy and attack each other.  All I could do was to picture all the people in Walmart going crazy as they fought each other over the rapidly diminishing stock of supplies in the store!  I am happy to report that no such activity happened and my daughter text me after she had returned home to let me know that she had successfully completed her shopping without incident!

All of us rushing to the store in preparation of the coming storm got me to thinking about the store of God’s Word that we keep on hand for the various storms of life that come against each of us.  Matthew 6:20 tells us to “make a store for yourselves in heaven where it will not be turned to dust and where thieves do not come in to take it away.” (Bible in Basic English)  It is interesting to me that Strong’s explains one of the inferences of the word “heaven” in the Greek as referring to “specifically: the Gospel.”  So you could also say that the Lord was encouraging us to make a store of supply for us in God’s Word!

When I looked into shopper’s baskets yesterday I saw food items, candles, batteries and other emergency preparation supplies.  I wonder how many of those same folks had checked on and fortified the supply of God’s Word in their hearts in preparation for the forecasted severe weather?  I know that I did as I had to fight off concerns of “What if I need to get out?” or “Do I have enough of this or that?” and other such thoughts.  I made sure that we were well stocked with scriptures such as those found in Philippians 4:13, 18-19, II Timothy 1:7, John 14:27, II Corinthians 2:14 and made sure I included an extra supply of the joy promises in Nehemiah 8:10 and Proverbs 17:22.  And those supplies didn’t cost me anywhere near $166.00!

How well supplied are you for the storms that may or not be forecasted for your life?  Do you have a well provisioned store of God’s promises to handle any kind of physical, emotional or spiritual severe weather reports?  Well, NOW is the best time to build up your supply instead of having to fight the crowds and long lines when the storm hits!  Have a GREAT day.  Stay in tune to the weather reports in God’s Word, and keep asking yourself… “What or How am I expecting to prepare for any storms today?”