God’s glory will shade the city from the heat of the day and make it a place of safety, sheltered from the rain and storm. ~ Isaiah 4:6 GNT
“Nana, I’m scared!” Marie-Helene cried from the back seat. The girls and I hurried off the beach when I noticed the dark clouds gathering in the west. This was followed by a text from their Papa alerting me to the severe storm warning. I made the decision to head towards home. If the storm hit, I’d look for shelter. Hit it did. We were less than two miles from home, but there was no way I was going to drive on a narrow tree-lined road with numerous low spots that could flood. I pulled into a gas station as far away from trees and power lines as I could get.
The wind howled, the trees bent under its power. Lightening flashed. Thunder rolled. Rivers of muddy water flowed down the road we’d been on. Marie-Helene was crying in the back seat. I used my calmest voice to reassure her, to no avail. I tried singing, but my rendition of “Singing in the Rain” didn’t help. Big sister Anne-Sophie asked me for my cell phone so Marie-Helene could play on it. It worked – an answer to my silent prayer for safety and peace. Before long the sky began to lighten, the wind died down, and I voiced my thanks for answered prayers. Anne-Sophie said she’d prayed too. For a brief time, our Honda CRV had become shelter and safety from the storm.
The crazy weather, horrific thunderstorms giving way to record heat, seems an apt metaphor for how crazy the world seems right now. This isn’t the first time, and it won’t be the last time that the world see,s crazy. It was crazy two thousand six hundred years ago when Isaiah’s beloved people were being deported, his beloved city destroyed. He recorded the promise that God would provide shade from the heat, shelter and safety from rain and storm.
I am remembering the sense of shelter and peace that descended on a Honda CRV when prayer calmed a grandma and the wisdom of a big sister offering a cell phone soothed a frightened little sister.
Remember times of safety and shelter in your life. They provide strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow. ~ Anne
Wayfinding 