After the Storm

Monday Moment, May 6th

The other day poor Jim was caught in a downpour as he was on his morning walk. Luckily he was close to home and returned wet but largely unscathed. I was more fortunate a few hours later, when I enjoyed the glorious after-rain beauty.

After the storm, the fog on the hills rose upward and disappeared into the heavens.

After the storm, the sky was more dazzling than ever, with the dark clouds and the sun’s rays contrasting beautifully in shades of blue and white.

After the storm, the trees and plants were washed clean and they glistened in the sunshine.

This isn’t my best photo, but after the storm, I discovered this vulture raising its wings to dry them. This was the best gift of the morning, as it seemed to me that the vulture was praising God- with wings uplifted in gratitude!

My spirit was refreshed as I observed how nature responds with joy after the storm, in unique and awesome ways. Tree branches may be broken by the winds, flowers may droop from the downpour, crops may be damaged by the hail, and yet nature rejoices as it steadily recovers.

Life will be interrupted with sudden storms that surprise us. Enduring these storms is unpleasant at best- and quite devastating at worst. God’s Word exists in all of God’s creation, so even through nature we can find deeper meanings and spiritual insights to help us respond to the storms of life. When we are watchful, we discover that God is moving and revealing through all of creation, all the time.

After the storm, may we seek the hidden blessings and respond as nature does- with the clarity of the lifting fog, with the radiance of the clouds and sky, with the pureness of the washed flowers, and with the praise of the uplifted wings.