Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Watching The Storm Move

I have no idea what this post will be about. When I first started this blog, things to write just came to me and poured out my heart and my thoughts here. For the last year or so, that has not been the case. I would go through something, hear something from God, or just feel something so deeply that I want to write something, but the words would not come. Many of those times I hear God say a quiet, "no" or "it's not time" and even "that's only for you".

My not writing hasn't been about a lost interest or lack of topics, but rather a required silence. I think it ironic, since this blog was started in part for me to get my voice back and use it. Lately, He has required something else. It doesn't make since to my way of thinking, but it must to His. Into paragraph two, and I still don't know where this post is going, but I knew I needed to write it.

There have been so many thoughts whirling in me of late. Some about recent events. Some about experiences. Some about those "it's not time's". Some about what others around me are going through. Yet I keep getting "nope". Yes, God does say nope! I believe I'm suppose to write about something that happened a few years ago. So here goes. :)

I was on our school's 5th grade trip to Charleston, SC. It was a two day trip and there were quite a few things that happened on that trip. We enjoyed a beautiful plantation with an amazing petting zoo. The kids just loved it. There were the typical petting zoo animals, but there were also deer and peacocks. We had to eat lunch on the bus one day, because it rained, so we couldn't enjoy our lunch in the park as planned. We took horse-drawn carriage rides through the city, and some people's rides where more "educational" than others. One place we went that I was excited about was Fort Sumter. I am a history buff and I find forts to be fascinating places.

Fort Sumter was not! I was disappointed at how little was there. I had been in Revolutionary War forts where more of the fort was standing than in this small fort. There was however, a hill that seemed to bring the children more enjoyment. They could do something they hadn't been able to do much of on the trip due to the weather and the places we visited. They could just move and enjoy themselves. A fellow teacher and friend and I sat on the hill an watched one of the most amazing sights.

We looked out across the water at Charleston and saw a storm move in. We watched it cross the water and enter the city. We looked off to our lefts and saw the part of Charleston that was not engulfed by the storm. We turned back to our rights and watched the storm as it moved across Charleston. The area that was first rained upon soon became sunny again as the storm quickly moved to the left. We knew from our vantage spot where the storm was headed and where it had been. On our spot on the hill we were safe. The storm was not headed in our direction. We were able to just sit there and be amazed by what we saw.

Can you imagine what it would be like if we could do that in the spiritual as well as the natural? If we could see storms headed into a person's life. If we could see the area that had been rained on and now is bright with sunshine. If we could see the area that was in the deluge and the area that is going to be soon. What if it wasn't a storm that we were able to see, but also a refreshing rain? Or the sun breaking through the clouds of our life? Or the rainbows of promises God makes to us?

But we don't have a safe hill to sit on and just watch. We are in the midst. Some of us are in the midst of approaching storms, while others are being drenched by them. Others are enjoying a refreshing rain or the sunshine after a storm. Yet others are watching clouds parting or rainbows gleaming in the sky. We can't see what's coming, but we can have confidence that God isn't just sitting on that hill watching our lives be weathered. He is with us. He knows when to cover us with an umbrella or cover us with a shelter. He knows when to throw open the windows in our lives to let us feel the sun rays and marvel at the rainbows. No matter what spiritual weather I am experiencing I know He is with me, in me, and directing me. That gives me such peace and gladness.

I had no idea where this post was headed, but I hope it was what someone needed to hear. I think it's what I needed to write and learn from.
Rain Showers In The Distance
http://ayay.co.uk/background/weather/rain/showers-in-the-distance/

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