As The Storm Passes

Just a quick note to my regular readers. I’m sorry that there’s been no post over the past few days. My internet connection was knocked out by a tree that fell on the line and there’s no public access where I live. I hope to be back on track now that service has been fully restored.

It’s a common occurrence in the Appalachian Mountains. Thunder booms and the wind seems to bounce from one mountainside to the other. Every region thinks it’s storms are the worst but the truth is that the worst storm is the one that catches you by surprise. As mentioned above one such storm recently knocked out communication and electric services for my area which temporarily transported us to the nineteenth century. Okay, maybe not quite that bad. We brought the solar powered lawn lights inside after the sun set and watched movies that were loaded onto our mobile devices. I used a small battery pack to keep anything not capable of being charged in the sun at full power and made limited use of the charging system in our vehicles. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on point of view) I didn’t have drag the gas grill out of storage this time. But, we adapted to the conditions.

Storms are not always wind, rain and thunder though. Sometimes it’s more emotional or spiritual. Like the natural storms they can come up without warning and leave you alone in the dark. You might wonder how you’re going to get by. You might not have alternative lighting and such. But, let me tell you. God has built you to be stronger than you know and God’s got your back. He didn’t go to all the trouble of creating you as the special individual that you are just to leave you alone when you need him most. The storm will pass.

Old Man Winter’s Last Fit… (I hope)

Old man winter is a stubborn one indeed. We have invited him to leave with singing frogs, nesting birds and open bloom but he doesn’t want to leave. Today he threw a tantrum and hurled cold rain, sleet and snow at us. His antics have made a complete mess of the local fishing pier. I suppose that some weather just doesn’t understand that he’s not welcome anymore. However, I have a plan. I simply refuse to be a fun host to Old Man Winter. Instead of going out to play in his muck and mud I’m going to snuggle up under a warm blanket and sleep until he gives up and goes back to the North. 😉 Have a blessed evening everyone!

Childhood Flashbacks

I think that we all see things from the perspective of the inner child. The image above is the side entrance of the Nicholas County Courthouse. Even though I have really good friends who work there I always feel a little intimidated walking into the building.

I start to have flashbacks of slowly strolling down the hallway towards the principal’s office. (Headmaster in other cultures). Now, I wasn’t really in trouble a lot in school. I swear it was someone else that was shooting wads of paper through a drinking straw. Or, placing small woodland creatures in the teacher’s desk drawer. And I have no idea how wild leeks (known locally as ramps) got into the heating system of small classroom. (Looks away acting innocent). However, I always found myself trying to explain these things to an authority figure at the end of a long narrow hall. I remember it as if it were yesterday. I can hear the funeral march playing in my head. As I approach the office the door creaks open. The secretary looks at me empathetically and offers a blindfold. The door closes behind me. Surly the end is near. Okay, maybe that’s just a little melodramatic. But isn’t it odd how certain places bring up old feelings?

We think of ourselves as full grown adults but at heart we’re all still children. Children that are full of wonder and daydreams. And yes, sometimes a little irrational fear.

( The truth is I’ve never had a bad experience with anyone in this building. They’ve always been kind and helpful. )

A Promise

Every storm should end with a rainbow. The Bible says that God gave us the rainbow as a sign that he would never flood the entire world again. When times get dark and stressful we should look for the promise that things are not going to be tough forever. The storms will eventually pass.

Holding The Light

Would you believe that I built a spacecraft in my backyard and left the Earth to get this image? No? Of course not. What you see here is a happy accident. I like to take pictures of rain on my windshield. Last night I climbed into my truck and the water droplets were just right. I pulled out my phone and snapped the shutter. But, I had forgotten to turn off the flash. Each little droplet managed to catch the flash resulting in a photo of a sun surrounded by stars. (After some manipulation 😉)

The light of God shines out from his throne in heaven. When we catch his light and hold it we stand out from the darkness. We become a reflection of Him.