Thunderstorms and Lightening

Thunderstorms and Lightening

I got caught in a rainstorm this morning, but I knew it wouldn't last. The clouds were moving in dark and heavy and it would soon become a thunderstorm. So I slowly strolled from my car to the back porch and plopped myself down in my rockin' chair and prepared for the coming light show with sounds effects. And sure enough,  it was just a matter of minutes before it began.  With the sky brooding and dark, the wind began to blow and in what seemed like an instant,  the temperature dropped from the mid nineties to the mid eighties. Add to that the slight breeze of the ceiling fan and me being wet, I was actually kinda cold. But that was insignificant as I began to watch and listen.  Everyone who lives in a thunderstorm prone area knows this, but for those of you who don't, this is how you tell how close you are to the lightening: when you see lightening you count the seconds until you hear the thunder. Then divide those seconds by five. That's how many miles away the lightening struck. For instance, if it's ten seconds, the lightening struck two miles away.  If it's one second it probably hit your yard OR your house! So back to my musings.  Lightening bolts are both beautiful and frightening.  If lightening is striking all around you, it can indeed be a scary thing.  And when it is really close the thunder booms sound like cannons, to the point of rattling your crystal.  And it's not at all uncommon to drive past a pecan orchard and see VERY large branches laying on the ground broken and charred.  BUT!  When all of this is in the distance or out over the Gulf of Mexico, it is truly an experience that I love, that I never grow tired of and always causes me to look at God in a certain way.  A way in which we all need to be reminded sometimes.  If you have been reading my blog, you may have noticed that I am usually casting God in His wonderful goodness, kndness, etc.  But when I am witnessing a storm I am reminded of His awesome power. For some reason, it is during a storm that I am most in touch with the pain of His sacrifice. I dwell on the crucifixion with the thunder and lightening more than any other time. The intense fire and briliance of the lightening strike show me His purifying judgement and presence, while the fierceness of the thunder reminds me of the intense grief my Father felt when my sin was placed on Christ Jesus, His Son and the absolute darkness, pain and aloneness that Jesus felt being separated from His Father.  It's as though They are both screaming with grief and pain. Their voices so strong, so powerful that They cannot be ignored. They MUST be heard.  It is not unusual to find me on my knees, weeping, thanking and praising God the Father and Christ my Saviour for my salvation and the relationship I have with them.  I am overwhelmed and overcome by love and venture back out in the rain to be cleansed again and baptized anew in the Holy Spirit.  Amen and Amen.