God will see us through the Storm

God will see us through the storm.


We have weathered hopefully the worst of the winter storms by now in Walnut Cove, NC. It was exciting for a few days with the threat of ice and snow and freezing rain, and then all three were delivered to us. We were without power for about a day, but some folks just a little ways north of us towards Sandy Ridge NC had about an inch of ice and thousands of people lost power. On a normal day, I have figured out that I take a lot for granted, like heat and running water and lights, and a wireless internet connection, and that without them life is really different fast. In the storm, several folks called and offered for my family to come stay with them, and one even said bring the dog. I had prepared for the storm the best I knew how to prepare, having grown up in a rural community that would lose power occasionally during a storm I had down some of the basics. Draw extra water. Get out flashlights and batteries, and a radio. Make sure there is food in the house. Buy fuel ahead of time and get it in the house before the storm. Charge the cell phone.

Then the storm came. I could hear trees popping in the woods by our house that sounded like explosions as they snapped, and transformers blowing up in the distance. All the usual night lights were off, and it was black outside and quiet. The storm forced our hand to shift into survival mode. All we focused on was how to stay warm, how we were going to heat our food, and how were we going to take care of the other people who needed us during the storm. As the ice started to freeze on the trees, my husband was making a last minute run for kerosene for our back up heaters. Before he could get home, he saw a huge tree fall across the main highway near our house. Thankfully, it didn’t block him from coming home. Is there a spiritual lesson to be learned from going through a crisis with the power being out? Yes. Put oil in your lamp ahead of the storm and before the sun goes down. I think Jesus used that same example about getting oil for our lamp ahead of the time that it would be needed. Spiritually, we may not know when the next storm will come for us. God encourages us through Christ to fill up our lamp with the fuel of the Holy Spirit everyday and to keep our walk with him in good condition. Let God trim the wick and cut away what is no longer useful to let our life burn higher and brighter for him. I got to watch my mother in law really trim away on old wick on an oil lamp that had not been lit in at least 10 years. She didn't cut it exactly straight, but it was close. It looked good enough to me. When she lit the lamp the flame looked like a high heeled shoe. We all got a good laugh over it. Another lesson, better let God do the trimming away from what needs to go in our lives. What may look good enough to us, may still need the hand of God. In the lessons from the storm, God has proven again, He will provide for our needs. Heat, food, light, spiritual comfort, friends, and the list goes on. God is our source and we give him praise for seeing us through the storm, and we give him praise that He will be with us no matter what storm we may face. We praise Him!! Amen.