Storms can be hard. Ok, they can be downright frightening.
Drip……..…….drip………………drip………..
The rain is beginning to fall.
….drip……….drip………drop……drip…….
It falls, falls, falls from the sky, making its way to the tiny leaf,
the one that is just barely hanging on…that’s how I feel some days.
It’s hanging on as firmly as it can, trying not to let go….
Drip…drip…drip…drop…drip…..drip….
From the leaf to the ground the tiny drop falls, lost…
Drip….drop…..drip……drop…..drip….
Faster now the drops come, I can hear them on the roof.
Drop…drop…drop…drip…drip….drop…
They begin puddling. Those tiny drops are lost no more,
They are found, they are joined by others on a similar journey….
drip..drop…drip….drop..drip….drop….
The wind picks up,
The trees bend, dance…
The power flickers and with each plunge into darkness,
We wonder…wait.
It’s back on, for how long, we never know.
Drip, drip, drop, drip, drip, drop….
The storm is coming. We don’t yet know how strong, how fierce…
We need the rain, oh how we need the rain…
There is such a thirst to be quenched.
For now, may the earth enjoy the liquid refreshment.
Drink it up…revel in the nourishment…
But the winds?
Why a STORM?
Nature battles them on the outside of my home,
As battle my own mini storms on the inside…
Work calls, daddy must sleep…
The rain has driven mommy and her children inside…
From my kids, tears fall, like the rain out my window.
Drop, drop, drop, drop, drip, drop…
and with each drop, they drain, drain, drain…me.
As the bottom has fallen out from the cloud
So too it seems to have fallen from within my kids…tears flow.
Tired? Frustrated? Bored? I don’t know.
What I do know is I will hold them close and we will endure the storms together.
All the storms.
Fear not, little ones…mommy is here.
Isn’t that life for many? Storms? Fear? Uncertainty?
Outside my house,
at times, inside my house…
throughout the world…
Look…see…recognize…
So many are fearful and in pain…
No matter the reason, may we build up and reinforce those who are struggling…
Brave the storms, be a beacon of truth, show them there is hope…
Storms do end.
There is One, capable of calming them all…
The Son is not gone, even though the world may perceive the light to be lost…
shadowed by dark clouds…
Hold on, hold strong…fear not…
May we, together, embrace the broken and help deliver a Father’s comfort to a trembling world.

It is easy to get blinded in the rain, disoriented by the lightning strikes, rattled by the booms of thunder…lost in the moment. Fear takes hold and your mind starts racing with the what-ifs. That momentary blindness and fear can snatch you, grab hold, and make it difficult to regain your footing. Can you imagine facing that panic alone? Nowhere to turn? No one to look to, hold you, reassure you?

Deuteronomy 31:6 reminds us to “be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified…for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

What a relief. Those words are my arms of comfort through life’s storms. I just need to study them, meditate on them, hide them in my heart.

But, what about those who don’t know this truth? Where is their comfort?

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV)
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

Wait, WE? That’s…me.

But there is too much brokenness. I can’t. How could I? Isn’t there someone else?

We aren’t asked to conquer the whole world. It’s not our job to save it. Those things have been done. I merely need to reach out to the lost souls that are placed in my life, my path, go where I am led, and let them know they are not alone…they are loved.

It’s a smile.

It’s a handshake.

It’s a small token of kindness.

It’s a “good morning” and a “God-bless you.”

It’s a listening ear when someone needs a friend.

It’s NOT conformity. It’s not about losing myself, but it’s also NOT saying, “you are perfect just the way you are.”

Being a comforter in a storm is about letting someone know that even though they are imperfect, God loves them anyway, I love them…

Then offering a hand to lead them to safety, and PRAYING that they take it.