REFLECTIONS
November 16, 2008
 
 
Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm:
"Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.
Job 40:6-7
 
                                                                                                      
Storms of Darkness
                                                                                      
            Sand had gathered outside like snow banks in places that trapped the wind. Gritty floors, dusty table tops, and sandy window sills served as reminders of the storm. But now the morning light broke through the windows to introduce the peace of a new day. Gone was the storm of darkness that had fallen on yesterday.
            Our eighth grade class room had hidden the oncoming storm from view. So when darkness swept over us, it cast eerie, unsettled, and anxious feelings. Anxiety only increased when the deep intercom voice announced that school was dismissed for the day. We gathered our things and ventured from the building into the elements of darkness. Once outside, our lungs filled with the dark heavy dust that enveloped the air. My fears were calmed when I found Daddy waiting to take me to safety.
            The blackness like midnight was not the usual darkness. It was midday; and car lights, unable to penetrate the sand filled air, reflected back into our eyes. Through the gloom Daddy was still able guide us safely home. But home was affected too. The walls blocked the wind but did little to hold back the suffocating grit that filled the air. Wet towels placed over our faces filtered the dust from our burning lungs.
            The storm of darkness epitomized the drought stricken years when blizzards of dirt would blow down windswept streets. Tumble weeds would loosen themselves from the parched earth to roll wherever the current would take them; and the force of blowing sand stripped paint from exposed building and unprotected cars. No sand storm lingers in my memory like this one; but it is not the force of the wind or the grit of the sand that remains in my mind. It is the darkness I remember most.
             Storms of darkness gust into our lives with little warning. They leave us unsettled and anxious. But God speaks to us through the storms of life. Storms remind us that we can do nothing without Him. Then our fears are calmed when we find the waiting arms of our loving God.
            And the storms that fell on yesterday break into a morning light to introduce the peace of a new day.
           
“You are the light of the world,”
Richard Ì

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