In Like A Lion March is a transitional month. They even say it comes in like a Lion and out like a Lamb. Jesus is both Lion and Lamb so march must be a very spiritual month. I believe the ice storm of 2014 was a spiritual storm. We, the body of Christ, the remnant who has been roused awake, are being prepared. The Bride is being prepared for her Groom. I wish I didnt need these drills--these dry runs--but I do. They show me who I am, how spoiled I am, how warm Ive become in the cares of the world, and how in-control I feel (as long as the powers on!). This storm caught me by surprise. Sure, Id heard the reports of some ice, but how often do weathermen get winter weather reports right? About once in a blue moon. So I ignored the reports, and the weather, until something that sounded like a sonic boom woke me up Friday morning. I realized an entire oak fell over in the neighbors back yard. Right after, I heard a huge branch fall to the ground with a thump. Now fully awake (but still with power) I began hearing other limbs fall amidst the continuing patter of ice against my bedroom window. I got to the kitchen and made coffee as I surveyed the landscape. Things were looking white and slushy and it appeared I was in for the day. Back to the bedroom for coffee and Facebook, when all of a sudden the lights flickered. Uh oh. Thank God I got coffee made! I barely had time to update my status when I heard an explosion followed by complete silence; and no power. I was now cut off, quite literally, from most of my world. I went back to the kitchen to survey the damage and realized that there was nothing I could do to prevent a tree from falling into the house and letting in both sleet and cold. I mentally explored living out the day stuck in sub-freezing temps, but then turned to God and offered a simple prayer: God, I need Your help and protection. Please keep the trees from falling into the house. Its in Your hands. I cant say I was filled with faith (after all, prayers hadnt kept the power on!) but in the realm of things I cant control I try nowadays to turn to God. As I sat in silence watching the battery power drain from my laptop, I began to think of the parallels between Gods winter pruning and my life. I realized that those limbs that were crashing to the ground were the weak limbs. Those limbs that would not support fruit in the coming Spring. I see Gods grace in removing those parts of the tree that use up precious resources without giving life back in return. I see that its the weight of Gods Glory that brings down those dead limbs in my life. Its not His hacksaw. Its not His sledgehammer. He doesnt need such blunt instruments for His sons (and His friends). It is the goodness of His Glory that does the job. It coats and covers and gently tugs until those things which can be shaken are shaken loose in His Breeze and fall away. I also thought of that tree laying on the ground in the backyard. Just one of many. Perhaps it was dead and the storm simply put the oak out of its misery. But more likely, its roots had grown shallow and receded in recent years. It was an old tree, huge, and seemingly majestic, but under the ground, in unseen areas, it had grown weak and disconnected. In a sense, it had forfeited its place in nature. Fit only as firewood now, and maybe not even that, it lay on the ground, having not only fallen, but taken our transformer with it. I was reminded that when Christians of stature become disconnected from Life (capital L) and fall, they often do damage to all those around them. I vaguely remembered inheriting an emergency radio from my Dad so I searched through my clutter to locate it. Still new and in the box, I took it to the light of the kitchen and opened it up. Thankfully (as a hoarder) I happened to have a full package of batteries in my fridge. I got the radio powered up and lifted the antenna only to have it break off in my hand. That makes sense! My Dad was not very tuned in to the things of God. He was, in a sense, operating with a broken antenna. Not to mention that he never even pulled this radio out of the box. He left this earth unprepared. I was able to pull in an AM radio station and caught up on the weather. Not having cable, or even TV, I wasnt up on the goings on. I heard report after report of trees down, power out, and general chaos. I grabbed my phone to call some folks and let them know the crisis I was in (since, again, I was unable to broadcast it on Facebook!) and my phones battery was dead. Hmmm. It seems that power really is a big deal, especially when you dont have it! My sister gave me an emergency power radio a number of years ago and I remembered it had an outlet on it for powering up devices. Unfortunately, I had not kept it fully charged! It had just enough to get me about a 10% charge on my phone. I sent a few texts and returned to the bedroom for the warmth of my covers. Long story short, I survived the storm. Yes, it was inconvenient. Yes, I went through some electronic withdrawls. And yes, I even dug out a rectangular thing constructed of paper called a book! But all in all, this storm was a very minor event. I believe that God always uses the minimum force or discomfort (or consequences) necessary to accomplish His will. He wanted me more aware. He wanted me to know how dependent I am on power (HIS Power). He wanted me to have some things on hand in the future, like some water, a propane burner, a charged emergency radio, etc. And finally, He wanted me to know that He is my salvation in any storm. He is my shield and my strength. He is my serenity in the midst of chaos. That knowledge is going to come in very handy in the coming years. God is so good that His grace was evident even after the storm. No major loss of life that I know of. No looting or mayhem. And within a day of the storms worst, it was 70 degrees and sunny. Beautiful. Perhaps as it looked the last time Noah sent the dove out. Storms may come, but the Sun will always shine again. Light always overcomes darkness. Its just a fact. ©2014 Michael Wade
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 17:19:13 +0000
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