Stormy Season

On my way home last night from watching Tanner play basketball storms were forming all around us. Brenda and Taylor were in a different car and called to inform me to listen to the radio. Tornados were forming in our proximity.

I did get to drive  straight home but rather had to drive Tanner back to school to get my truck. We opted to drive home on the backroads as the clouds brewed over head and the threat of tornados loomed. It takes us twenty minutes to drive from Paradise to our home. It takes about thirty minutes when you travel the backroads. I heard of tornados touching down north east of us.

As we neared home, I noticed the skies getting considerably blacker. When we turned down the last stretch I became concerned. Lightening began cracking. It did not rain but overhead I knew something serious was blowing in the direction of home. Then the report on the radio cited a tornado touching down between the towns of Jacksboro and where we live in Runaway Bay headed our direction.

By the time Tanner and I reached home the tornado sirens in our community began sounding. Some reports stated a tornado formed over Lake Bridgeport about a mile from our home. Brenda began getting a series of text messages from concerned church members and friends wanting to know if we were okay. We gathered all the boys into our bedroom and I instructed them on my command to head for my closet if a tornado threatened.

We scrambled to find flashlights and batteries. We soon discovered we did not have battery powered radios. We were watching Pete Delkus reporting the weather and just as he began to talk about Runaway Bay the satellite went our and we were left in the dark about what the storm was doing in our community.

Turner got scared and nestled into my arms on my bed.. Tanner and Tucker fell asleep on the floor exhausted from the day. Taylor played with his iPod winding down after a week of final exams. Brenda busied herself responding to all the text messages. All six of us huddled in my bedroom.

In the middle of the storm I had peace. I did not panic. I did not worry. Throughout the next half hour Brenda continued to get text messages. In the end God protected us. We never even lost electricity. Losing our satellite reception for a short season proved our only inconvenience.

Soon the storm pounded rain and lightening lit up the night skies and then passed. Everything went back to normal. Brenda played on her Nook. Tanner and Tucker went to their own beds. Taylor and I watched a little television and then we went to bed.

There are four lessons I take from this stormy season that might apply to your life as well. First, storms can suddenly appear. When Tanner and I went to his basketball came the skies were overcast but it had not rained all day. The storms formed while we were in the gym totally unaware of what developed outside.

Life is like that as well. Stormy seasons come unexpected in the form of trials of every sort. Many times we never see them coming. They blindside us like a linebacker blitzing a quarterback. We all get lulled to sleep with a false sense of security. We feel insulated in our bubble living pan free and carefree until the storm hits. I would draw your attention to [Matt 7:25], The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. The context of this verse is about building on a solid foundation. Two different people built and the storm hit both houses. One collapsed. One withstood the storm. My point is that the storm hit both houses. Storms of life hit believers and unbelievers, rich and poor, famous and obscure, young and old, married and single. We should not get lulled to sleep by a false sense of security. Sooner or later storms hit all of us.

The second thing I think about during this stormy season is God gives peace in the middle of storms. [Phil 4:6-7] Don't worry about anything,but in everything through prayer and petition with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. 

As Turner laid in my arms last nigh,t I asked if he was nervous. He said yes. I then asked if he trusted God. He again said yes. I gently reminded him that if we really trusted God we had nothing to be nervous about.

Even in the middle of the storms of life we can have God's peace. What a blessing. Not our man made peace that can be shattered in a moments notice. God's peace. Think about that for a minute. Has God ever been worried? Has God ever wrung His hands in despair? Has there ever been one time when God sighed in anxiety thinking all was lost? NO. NEVER. That is the peace that He gives us as we pray and trust no matter what we are facing.

The third lesson is the storm passed. All storms have a beginning and an ending. Chaos may abound in the middle but in the end storms pass. They blow over. The same is true in life. Trials end. We may not like the end outcome but the storms to end. Even if they end in death for us or those we love.

The last lesson learned last night came from Turner. Right after our conversation about trusting and not worrying he made a very profound statement. He commented, "Dad, we don't need to worry. No matter what happen we will be okay. If God protects us during this storm we have nothing to worry about. If we all die in this storm we know where we are going and that is not bad. No matter what happens we will be okay." All of that truth from an eleven year old.

It reminds me of my absolute favorite Bible verse and the one I have selected to have preached at my funeral. For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. [Phil 1:21] Even if the whole Edwards household had been wiped out last night and we all died it would have been our gain. We would not have lost anything but gained everything. We would have been rewarded and the reward would have been all the sweeter because we would entered glory together. God had other plans.

So I awake this morning again seated at this keyboard to proclaim God's truth for all who choose to read. We all face stormy seasons. They come unexpectedly. God still gives us His peace. Storms come to an end eventually. Even when we lose our lives in the storms it is our gain if we are in relationship with Jesus Christ. Let your hearts be comforted.