Mar 17, 2026 – Storms
Yesterday’s blog was on the screen after I powered up my computer this morning. As I looked at the snow photos while reading the first paragraph about the storm, I wondered about my prayer from the night before had perhaps been “audacious.” I can handle a lot of tough issues, but storms really do hit a nerve for me. I may have mentioned this already, but I think it stems primarily from rushing with my mother to get the patio cushions inside before (and sometimes during) storms which was especially scary if there was thunder and lightning.
What I think solidified the impending storm doom in my young mind, though, was the time my best friend and I stood at my living room window praying for the storm that day to stop so she could go home where she felt safer with her own family during storms. All of a sudden, the gutter came crashing down right in front of the window! I should remember these feelings and offer grace if I ever start to judge someone, even a little, for allowing past traumas to haunt them. And, yes, I know God can give us peace from these memories and feelings; but, now that I think of it, I don’t know if I’ve ever asked for that.
As with my mother, I helped Don secure loose items outside as the storms and possible tornados approached; and, like I pretty much always do, I prayed for God to protect our home. I do this even more than when I was a child because of my mother-in-law, Barbara’s, example of praying about a tree not falling on her house until she was able to have it taken down. After most of the tree was handled and they got to the base, they saw how rotten it was and that it could have fallen at any time and likely for a long time prior to that day!
Back to the night of the recent storm (have you noticed that I can sometimes make a short story a long one), when it woke us up a bit later than the midnight prediction, I grabbed my glasses and my book and headed to the basement to sleep (or sit up and read). The larger bedroom, where I’ve slept during storms in the past, has windows on two walls; so, this time for some reason (probably because that’s where Barbara comes to stay sometimes during bad storms), I chose the smaller bedroom that is tucked up next to the side of the mountain and only has a small window.
As I listened to the rain hit the gutter (and realized that it still needs to be secured better to the house because it allows water to drip behind it), the memory of the gutter falling surprisingly didn’t come to mind. What I did think about was how much of a “nothingburger” (Don’s term for things that don’t pan out as expected) the storm seemed to be, but I was already settled so I stayed there ‘til morning.
And, though we didn’t have tornados, there apparently were strong winds. Don said the bedroom creaked and the wind howled and the rain pounded; but, because of God’s answer (directing me to that bedroom and calming my mind) which was even more than I’d asked for, I was oblivious! And, Don got to sleep in peace (since I wasn’t continually asking if we should sleep downstairs) with the curtains open (and the brightness streaming in the darkness from the lights in the valley below AND from the lightning that I didn’t even see, I guess, because of the small window).
JC – “Come to Me for understanding, since I know you far better than you know yourself.” God knew I needed more than just assurance that the house would be ok. The devotion (and comfort) continues, “I comprehend you in all your complexity; no detail of your life is hidden from Me. I view you from eyes of grace…. Allow the Light of My healing Presence to shine into the deepest recesses of your being [childhood memories perhaps?] – cleansing, healing, refreshing, and renewing you.” I haven’t thought to ask for healing from those fears, and only mentioned the need to be healed just a few paragraphs above and yet, here God is providing more than I even knew to ask for. “Trust Me enough to accept the full forgiveness that I offer you continually. This great gift, which cost Me My Life, is yours for all eternity…. When no one one else seems to understand you, simply draw closer to Me…. As I fill you with My Love, you become a reservoir of love, overflowing into the lives of other people.” See Psalm 139:1-4.
Max – Hebrews 10:24-25 – “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,… encouraging one another.” Max addresses the inadequacy that “indwells a billion hearts” as he asks, “Who is going to tell people the truth? Will you? Will you distribute encouragement to the world? Will you make some happiness happen? … Will you remind humanity that we are made in God’s image? That we are chosen, destined, and loved? …Will you go face-to-face with the tidal wave of inadequacy that sucks people out to sea? Will you encourage someone today?”
Power – Joyce draws from 1 Corinthians 3:13 as she points out that, “Your reason or motive for doing the things you do is very important. God wants you to have a pure heart. He wants you to do things because He is leading you to do them or because they are the right things to do. God wants you to be motivated by love…. It is not what you do that impresses God; He is concerned with the why behind what you do. Ask God to reveal your motives to you and to change any that are not pure.”
I prayed that prayer telling God (what He already knows) that I write this blog because of the time it allows me to spend with and learn from Him; and because I want to share Him and His comfort and guidance with others; and because I want to contribute to our income perhaps someday through my writing; and IF that is not a pure motive, then please correct me. I didn’t really intend to share those thoughts here; but, when I picked up the next book and read the entry, I figured I have to share because it demonstrates the whole point of why I moved from being by myself in my journal to sharing these devotions with others through this blog.
Streams – Through Cowman, God answered me, “O restless heart – beating against the prison bars of your circumstances and longing for a wider realm of usefulness – allow God to direct all your days. Patience and trust, even in the midst of the monotony of your daily routine, will be the best preparation to courageously handle the stress and strain of a greater opportunity, which God may someday send.”
Simpson chimes in with a sentence that competes in length with some of mine! “So long as you struggle under the law, that is by your own effort, sin shall have dominion over you: but the moment you step from under the shadow of Sinai, throw yourself upon the simple grace of Christ and His free and absolute gift of righteousness, and take Him to be to you what He has pledged Himself to be, [still with me?] your righteousness of thought and feeling, and to keep you in spite of everything that ever can be against you, in His perfect will and peace, the struggle is practically over.” Take a breath. Reread that if necessary and then consider, “Beloved, do you really know and believe that this is the very promise of the Gospel, the very essence of the new covenant, that Christ pledges Himself to put His law in your heart and to cause you to walk in His statutes, and to keep His judgements and do them?”
Though his wording is of old much of the time, the truth speaks to us as he asks, “Do you know that this is the oath which He sware unto Abraham, that He would grant unto us. ‘That we being delivered from the hands of our enemies [perhaps for me in this moment my enemies are storms], and from all that hate us, might serve Him without fear [I don’t have to fear when I prepare for the storms and follow where He leads me to safety], in righteousness and holiness before Him all the days of our life.’ He has sworn to do this for you, and He is faithful, that promised. Trust Him forever.” What is your “storm”?
Prevail #77 – Our sessions sometimes run long because of what the next person and the next offers for us to think about. You can of course slip out, as some people have to do at times, at any point and catch up with us later. But for now, Larson points out that, “When we find ourselves in a funk, we tend to let go of healthy, life-giving habits. We make poor food choices (or stop eating altogether), we waste time but don’t sleep well, we pull away from community, and we stop asking God for fresh revelation of himself. Elijah was there. [See 1 Kings 19:7.] He’d just experienced a major victory, but with the triumph came a threat on his life. So Elijah ran and hid…. Yet God’s kind and compassionate direction was both practical and spiritual…. Elijah still had a purpose. You still have a purpose. When you’re worn out and discouraged, get some restorative rest, eat a good meal, and ask God to speak to you. Your story is not over until God says it is.”
JA – “NOTHING IN ALL CREATION can separate you from My Love….I want you to cling to Me with tenacious confidence. This gives you strength to cope with the uncertainties of living in such a broken, unstable world…. grasp My hand in childlike trust. Rest in the protection of My Presence, and remember that perfect Love drives out fear.” What I am picturing right now, as I think back to the night of the storm, is a child racing to the parents’ bed during a storm and falling fast asleep.
Psalm 36:7 – “How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.”
[Note: I have a little bonus for you for sticking with me to the end today. It’s a little video that Don has shared with his children for years on March 17 and now shares with my children (his “bonus” kids). It’s a Veggie Tales cartoon about St. Patrick. His life and ministry exemplifies the kind of love and caring and trust that was part of today’s message.]
