Wild Winds

We had a terrible windstorm last night. It was so strong that it blew apart two of our tarp-covered carports. My husband had to run outside to cut some of the tarps so that they wouldn't blow the pipes they were attached to into the neighbor's yard.

Our TV antennae was being wildly tossed to and fro on its long pole. We have a skylight in our bathroom, and every so often we would get up and look to see if our antennae was holding up. We feared two things: that it would crash into the skylight or that it would crash down into our other neighbor's yard where their nice new car was very close to our brick wall.

Thankfully, the antennae held, and except for the tarps and a few roof pieces flying away, we came out pretty well. As I drove the kids to school this morning, we were able to see other damage. Small trees were torn in two. Tarp carports had been lifted over houses. A few large trees had uprooted and crashed onto a fence, and in one case, over a car. Palm fronds were everywhere.

During the night, while my girls were shivering in my bed from fear of the noise outside, I thought about the strength of the wind. I couldn't help but think of Jesus on the Sea of Galilee with His disciples. He had fallen asleep on the boat as they were crossing the sea, and a fierce windstorm came up. It tossed the boat so wildly that even the seasoned fishermen on board were afraid. They woke Jesus up and He rebuked the wind and the waves, saying, "Peace, be still!" Immediately there was calm. The disciples were amazed and remarked, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!" (see Mark 4:35-41)

It's hard for my young ones sometimes to realize that God is in control despite our surrounding circumstances. As Christians our lives are God-filtered, meaning that the things we encounter have first gone through the screening process of the Creator of the Universe. The windstorm last night was no surprise to God. He was watching over us every single second.

Are you afraid of those sudden storms in life that come charging at you from out of nowhere? Remember, God is in control, and He wants to be your life-filter.