Thunderstorm

A face turned skyward, pausing amidst a hurried routine to gaze at the dark, roiling clouds blowing its way. A nose breathing in a wet, earthy smell that speaks of growing things. Then, a flurry of action: laundry hurriedly yanked off the line, windows slammed shut, calling for a dog who's instinct sent him running for cover behind the couch.

The first few drops, pattering onto the roof like a kitten's footsteps while an exhilarating wind whips the trees into a joyous rain dance. An eery, dim light seeping across the landscape as the last few glimmers of sunshine are blocked out by the ever-darkening sky. It is here.

The sound of kitten paws is replaced by a stampede of rhinos as a torrent lets loose from the sky.  It busies itself with soaking the sponge of the soil, filling streams and ponds, wetting parched plants, and surprising those convinced it was too sunny to carry an umbrella this morning. In drips, rivulets,  and impromptu streams, it sets about washing the world.

The lightening, oh the lighting! It splits the heavens into jagged puzzle pieces too fast for the eye to follow, then seals them back together with equal haste - cracks in the celestial ceiling, glimpses into a place we hope to see some day. Following behind are great claps of thunder, rolling together into a cadence to beat any drum line. 

A giddy grin overtaks a face moistened by the downpour, while bare feet gallop through puddles and under overflowing gutters. Indoors, a sudden start as one is caught unaware by a heavenly boom. An arm around a shoulder as two pairs of eyes stare, entranced by the display.

Never has nature revealed more plainly the existence of its Creator. The raw power, the overwhelming sights, the outright cacophony, all speak to something far greater than our earthly worries. Yet hidden in the regal display is a beautifully tender metaphor that makes me smile every time the storm clouds move in: a shower of love. An outburst of affection from our God that is so full it tears the sky. Each roll of thunder a shout to His children. Each flash of lightening a healing touch. Each droplet a tiny kiss.

A love storm.

Kaleidescope

Faith is the kaleidoscope through which you see life.

It colors your views, shapes your decisions, and puts a unique twist on world. The actual contents don't change from when you receive it to when when put it down. The same nuggets of truth are always there - you just may not see them.

As you progress on our journey, the kaleidoscope turns. Whether gradually or in sudden jolts, it rearranges the bits inside into a plethora of pictures: snapshots of wonder and doubt, growth and pain, mountaintops and the lowest of valleys. The pieces you had forgotten, the ones you wrestled with, the ones that left you with no answers, get jostled into a new light or shaken out of the corner. This is when things click into place inside you. Other times, the parts that were once your focus shift out of sight, and you are left with open hands, grasping for something sure and finding only air.

Sometimes, a person or event will move past you and bump you as they move by, unexpectedly changing your view. Perhaps it was a blessing, an angel in disguise shedding light that pulls you out of despair. Perhaps it was intentional, a shove, not a bump, and you were left frantically shaking your kaleidoscope, trying to replace the parts you thought you needed and recover the clear picture you had. No matter how hard you try, the fragments are always tinted by the experience.

So when the kaleidoscope gets turned, when you are shaken, when what you thought was true changes shape, what will you do? Will you throw down the lens of your faith and walk away betrayed?

Or will you pause, think, reassess, and move forward with the same truths in a different light?

*Inspiration credit: yet another awesome youth leader with a good message.