Thunder Snow

Thunder snow

Wow, that sounds so impressive! It’s the prediction for the weather here today, but so far the sun is shining out of a clear, cold blue sky. I see it’s snowing on the west coast, but no sign of the powerful thunder snow up here (yet)...

Then again, do I really want thunder snow and all its potential disruptions? It sounds like it could not only trap us in our home through treacherous roads, but also blitz our power or our internet or telephone or everything. 

Funny how we seem to have an inherent urge to flirt with the wild side, to experience something that gives us a thrill because it is intrinsically full of danger. Of course we all want to walk away unscathed and get on with our lives, but there is a frisson of excitement at the thought of high drama in the weather forecast.

The disciples weren’t too chuffed when their trip across the water turned into a struggle with violent winds and seas. They cried out to Jesus for help and he expressed wonder at their lack of faith, before calming the storm. 

I don’t think any of us court testing times in our lives, but the odd brush with exciting weather ... gets the blood pumping.

A Quieter World

What a delight to awaken to a quieter world, where the trees stand straight and tall and only the barest breath of wind ruffles the branches. Sometimes life blasts us. We bend in the strength of the onslaught and sometimes can’t make any headway at all. Our dreams grow distant and our plans appear unattainable.

That’s when we need to be rooted to the promises of God. We need to have enough of his promises in our larder that we can chew on them in those stormy times. ‘I know the plans I have for you, plans for good...’ ‘If anyone is in Christ she is a new creation.’ ‘I call you friend.’ ‘I will never leave you.’ ‘I can do all things through Christ.’ 

I see a lot of trees have been uprooted in the plantings round our place. Some have broken off but mainly the fallen have been uprooted, taking down a whole circular carpet of earth and a bed of roots – lots of roots, but shallow. Not getting a proper grip. Not planted deep enough to maintain stability in the fiercest onslaught.

Sitting in the stillness, remembering that God is God, sensing his presence, feeling his touch, experiencing his breath as he inspires me again with his Spirit...that’s the food and water my soul crave. May you take time today to be still and know that God is God. He loves you and me, truly, madly, deeply. The future is promising. It is all good. Wow.

What lies beneath?

A few years ago we had the opportunity to snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Not being the best swimmer and never comfortable out of my depth, never mind out of sight of land, I prayed all the way out to the reef for peace not just to do it, but to really love seeing one of God’s great wonders of our world.

God answered that prayer in an amazing way and it remains one of the best experiences of my life.

One significant memory I have is the uncomfortable sensation of having choppy waves splashing in my face, propelled by the winds (which culminated in a hurricane later that night). That contrasted sharply with the utter peace and magical beauty of the underwater world when I put my facemask to the surface of the water and observed. It was breathtakingly beautiful and revealed a completely different reality, one in which life went on in an unhurried, lazy-looking way.

When storms and even hurricanes arise in our lives, it is so easy to focus on the choppy waters, the high winds, and the unknown but vividly imagined devastation to come. I am in such a situation now, but I am challenged, reminded, and calmed by the certainty that if I keep my gaze on Jesus, it is like looking at the peaceful culture of the underwater reef. Praising him for his love, his constancy, his presence, his participation in all that is going on to the benefit of all involved – whether or not I perceive it – encourages me to take a deep breath and renew my efforts to focus on him. 

The hurricane still hit Queensland that January day, fortunately after we had reached shore and disembarked from the boat! Jesus calmed his panicking disciples once when they were being tossed about in a violent storm, reassuring them of God’s care and protection – and then speaking peace to the wind and waves. 

He speaks peace to the storm in my life and yours today. The winds and waves may continue as events unfold, but if we can maintain the peace of Jesus deep within, we will have a significant victory. It may be a sign of Kingdom life which reveals Jesus to others.

Wild Winds of Autumn

The colder winds of autumn are blowing here this morning, harbinger of what’s to come, I’m afraid. Wind is one aspect of the weather which I definitely don’t like. So often, here, it carries a damp edge to it which cuts right through the layers of clothing and chills the bones. 

It’s not that severe today, thankfully, being only early September. But it is a nudge to the complacent soul who was hoping that summer would last forever. Wish I’d finished tying up the raspberry canes the other day when the sun beat warm on my face. Sigh.

When I’m in a right grumpy mood about the wind, I’ve been heard to complain that there’s no point in it. It uproots trees, brings down power cables, lifts off roofs, and even injures and kills people, in its most severe form. It can ruin whole fields of crops and slaughter the raspberry canes. 

And it messes up my hair. (That’s a joke – my hair is generally a little messed up anyway!)

But of course I know that it does do some good things. When I see birds soaring on the thermals, higher and higher, effortlessly, I know they appreciate the free ride. When I see seed balls broken and tumbling along in the wind, I understand this is one of nature’s ways of procreation. When the clouds heavy with rain hang overhead, I positively pray that a wind would come and shift them along to the next venue.

When the disciples were tossed in the tempest on the Sea of Galilee, fearing for their lives as the night wore on without respite from the storm, Jesus came to them walking on the water, unperturbed by wind or waves. He was a picture of perfect peace, unafraid despite the wild waves and strong wind. 

Peter leapt out of the boat, eager to do what he saw his friend and master doing. And he did it successfully, as long as he kept his eyes fixed on the Lord Jesus. When he lost that self-discipline, though, and allowed his attention to stray to the tossing waves and the howling gale, fear caused his faith to falter and his feet got wet as he began to sink. Of course Jesus reached out and helped him back into the boat, and the storm subsided.

If the wind is in your face today, and the waves are splashing your feet, call out to Jesus. He always hears a cry for help, and always responds. The storm doesn’t always subside immediately, but with your focus on him, you will be able to walk through it fearlessly and arrive, exhilarated, on the farther shore.

Breakthrough

I was looking at my photos from a trip to Israel last March, and uploaded one of the Sea of Galilee as the desktop of my laptop. Now I can dream and remember, and imagine Jesus and his friends seeing the same sight, perhaps many times. 

It’s the breakthrough of the light that I find so breath-taking. It was dawning a rather stormy day, and we were due to go out on one of the Jesus boats in the picture. Perhaps a storm would brew up suddenly, like it did when Jesus was crossing the Sea a couple of times, recorded in the Bible. 

In the event, it didn’t. We had a calm boat trip and I found it amazing to be in nature, where Jesus was. So much more moving than being in a man-made church full of gold and glitz erected over a probable holy site. 

We are having grim weather here in the UK. Unseasonal they say, for March, though I don’t know. In nearly forty years of living here, I think I’ve gone through plenty of Marches where the weather continued to feel more wintry than spring-like. Snow, gales, ice. It can feel pretty grey and cloudy.

This morning, though, I received an email from a childhood friend, an echo down the corridors of time and space. A long and welcome communication full of memories and thoughts about our relationship and relationships with those we have loved and lost. An encouraging note – something we all need.

It was like the sunshine breaking through the clouds. The glory from heaven to earth. Jesus is closer to you than you think.