I've lived in Kansas for over 21 years, and I've never grown accustomed to spring weather out here on the plains. I have friends here who love stormy weather, who just go to bed and sleep right through the storms. Not me, not me at all. I don't like thunder and lightning, and I certainly don't like high winds and the threat of tornadoes. And my dislike for that type of weather has been heightened to a whole new level following the devastating tornado that hit Joplin, Missouri, last Sunday.
With the threat of severe weather again yesterday, I headed out very early for a walk before the weather deteriorated. The skies were cloudy, but I checked the radar online before I took off for the trail ... and there was no rain indicated anywhere near Kansas City. No rain. Let me repeat those words ... there was no rain on the radar. It was a pleasant and cool, albeit cloudy, morning, and Ollie and I had walked for about 45 minutes, stopping and chatting with a couple of people along the way. We were on our way home, and I was deep in thought about all the things I needed to do for Meghann's wedding when I noticed raindrops on the pavement in front of me. I had on a ball cap, so I didn't immediately feel the rain on my head. Within a matter of minutes, the sprinkles turned into a full-on steady rain, and Ollie and I were quickly soaked to the skin.
Ripping my iPod off my arm and stuffing it into my pocket to protect it from the rain, I tugged on Ollie's leash and urged him to hurry along. Stepping up my pace with my wet cold clothes weighing me down, all I could think was that I needed to get home in a hurry. As the rain picked up in intensity, I realized that we were a good 20 minutes from home ... and that was on a sunny warm day, not a rainy one with wet clothes, slick pavement and a shivering wiener dog. I thought of calling a friend to see if she could come pick us up and take us home, but I knew that we would have to walk a good distance to get to the road. Wondering what I should do, I looked ahead and saw that we were close to some large trees by the side of the path. I lifted Ollie into my arms and took off for those trees, and we huddled together under the massive branches for a good half-hour waiting for the rain to subside enough for us to get home.
As I crouched close to the trunk of the tree, I realized that the rain was barely hitting us ... the large branches of the tree were protecting us from the liquid falling from the sky. I've been a weepy mess this week with Meg's wedding right around the corner, and as I looked up into the protective covering of the arms of the mighty tree, the emotion washed over me again. I cried and cried and cried, clutching my furry little friend who was busily licking my tears. The rain finally slacked off, I wiped my eyes, picked up my dog and made a dash for home.
Walking into my garage, I knew that God had taught me another big lesson under that huge tree. It was raining all around Ollie and me, but we were covered ... safe ... still wet from the rain we'd walked through, but we were covered ... safe ... protected. Changing out of my wet clothes and stepping into a hot shower, the tears came again as I realized that God has been covering me with His arms while it's been raining all around me. I've gotten pretty soaked as I walked through that rain, and yet, He beckons me to stop my wet, cold, lonely trudging for a bit and rest underneath the massive branches of His grace, mercy and love.
So last night as I readied myself for another night of stormy weather, I breathed a prayer of gratitude to my Lord ... for His awesome arms ... for His constant covering ... for His lasting love.
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