Last night, out here in the country, the winds were howling as I watched a huge storm system roll in. Clouds gathered and thickened at an amazing rate, awash in an ever-deepening charcoal gray. Thunder rumbled and lightening cracked all around and the near-constant birdsong was silenced.

I love a good storm. Well, I love a good storm when I’m out of it, amen? And out of it I was last night, cozy with a mug of hot tea in my hand, safe inside a sturdy home. I was warm and protected in its trustworthy walls and wrapped up in my Snuggie (Roll your eyes if you want. Go ahead. I bet I was warmer than you though. Just sayin’.)

Have you ever been caught out in a storm though? Once, I was walking out of a TJ Maxx store in Florida, shortly after moving there, and had bought a cart load of new pillows and sheets, and some extra towels. As Florida is famous for, the minute I walked out of the store with my hands full to overflowing, it opened up and POURED…a skin-deep soaker, with its also famous lightning added in for good measure. I threw everything in the car as fast as possible and got in, clothing plastered to me, heading straight for home. Even though I was out of the rain in my car, I wasn’t really out of the storm. I didn’t feel safe or relax until I got inside my house. After drying off and changing clothes, I remember standing at the slider that went out to the lanai, and watched as the storm continued its fury, but from this vantage point I relaxed.

I’m thankful that in life’s storms, whether we watch them roll in, or experience their sudden beating, we have a Place to run. We have a Safe Haven from which to ride it out, a warm place to take a breath and rest, and though we might get wet and windblown, there is always Trustworthy Shelter from the rain.

 

“God is our shelter and our strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.” Psalm 46:1 NIV

“And my trust, the house of my refuge, my Mighty Deliverer, God, The Mighty One, upon whom I trust, my helper and the horn of my salvation, the house of my glorious refuge.” Psalm 18:2 ABPE

“…God’s your refuge, the High God your very own home. Evil can’t get close to you, harm can’t get through the door.” Psalm 91:5-7 MSG