Scanning the Skies for a Covenant

Recent flash flooding has devastated portions of Eastern Kentucky. People have been left without homes, mourning tragic deaths, celebrating heroes, scrambling to meet needs and raising their eyes to scan the sky and river banks with every new thundercloud breaking into rain. When out driving, it is easy to find evidence of mud slides and a few sharply curved corners where the road has crumbled. After another gully washer two evenings ago, I watched impromptu waterfalls form to race down cliff faces. Those who have been impacted, either directly or through concern for loved ones, experience apprehension with each new rain storm.

Just two nights ago, sitting back on a deep porch and relaxing in a rocking chair, I watched one more storm break across the sky before going to bed. I admired the beauty of the lightning and watched the reflection of the porch lights in the light rain. Though for me that summer thunderstorm was quite enjoyable and relaxing; I could not help but think of those not very far away who must be looking at this storm with trepidation. 

The storm wasn’t the only thing in the sky that day to catch my attention; a rainbow had appeared as well. With subtle color, it was nearly lost to view after being disrupted by a cloud. Subtle or no, it reminded me of the covenant that it shows us. A covenant, a promise or commitment, is shown in that and every rainbow. This promise was made when the earth was very young and recovering from a terrible flood. Genesis 9 tells us that the rainbow was provided as a “sign of the covenant between (God) and the earth.”

We all have storms and floods that occur in our lives. Sometimes we can sit on the porch, enjoying rain cooled air and the lightning show. There are other times when we are buffeted about and swept down in the currents of the floods. But in each, I keep my eyes open to look for the covenant of hope, seen in a beautiful but quiet display of dispersed light across the sky. I love seeing God’s promises, quiet and beautiful, made for us to take notice and comfort.

“And God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.’”  Genesis 9:12-16

Larry

   The recent storms in Joplin, Missouri have left many of us grateful for those who are okay and amazed at the devastation.  But, in the days of 24/7 news channels, I think that we have developed a thicker skin.  I mean, it’s terrible and I would like to be able to go help, but then the TV is turned off.  I forget, go back to my own life. 

   Yesterday, I was listening to the news guy or the weather/news guy talk about what he was seeking.  Everything was pretty normal and then, they started interviewing a man looking for his neighbor.  I had probably already heard three people talk about looking for their neighbors.  But, this fellow looked at the camera and said he was looking for his neighbor, Larry.  Larry is in his 70s and was home when the tornado hit.  They can’t find him. 

   That hit me.  There was a name, an age, a man – a real person trapped in his house.  I don’t know if he is alive or dead, injured or safe.  I don’t know if he has children or grandchildren, if he is retired, likes or dislikes, etc…   I don’t know what he looks like, his favorite color, if he likes ice cream or dogs.  I don’t know what his thoughts were as the tornado hit his home and created devastation.  I don’t really know anything about him, except his name is Larry, he is in his 70s and he is missing.  I tell you what, that name, the age, it broke the barrier that I had of thick skinned listening before I even knew it was there.

   I hope Larry is okay.  

Approach

   Spring is coming, it really is. Between the robins and a tiny little green leaf sticking out of a sidewalk crack, I’m sure that it is coming. There are all of these beautiful little signs, and then Boom! A crack of lightning strikes, the temperatures plummet and ice coats the twigs again. Late snows, mud, thunder, and a cold rain are also parts of spring. Spring approaches and it can be tumultuous as the warmth approaches.

   If I didn’t know that spring was coming, and that soon the flowers were to be budding, I would probably wonder at it’s approach. Is it worth it, to see flowers, to go through the cold and mud and storms? Sometimes, our life is about to open into a spring. There are flowers and warm sunny days right around the corner. But, as it approaches, all we can see are the turbulent days which occur leading up to the seasonal change. Without the approach of spring, those flowers wouldn’t have the moisture in the ground for growth, we wouldn’t have the food we need for growth.
   Give it time, keep looking for spring’s approach.

Why is the Sky Blue

   My moment of helping with the Christmas decoration taking down took the form of helping remove the lights from the trees. I’m not sure if the memory was triggered of the sound of the lights and the cord moving against the feathery evergreen branches or something else, but I remembered a moment years ago. I was sitting in a dark room with many others, high school students and camp counselors. Bunk beds lined the walls and the metal structure sounded the rain plainly.

   I was at the Space Academy camp in Huntsville, Alabama. A tornado warning had been sounded and we had all been moved into the dorms of one of the groups. Those metal walls didn’t much to shield us from the sound of the rain and many were starting to get nervous. You could just feel the tension in the room. Quietly, our counselor called us together and asked us if we knew why the sky was blue.
   What? That question caught me, the me that is not so fond of tornadoes, completely by surprise. I wasn’t the only one. Soon we were in a conversation about light spectrums and how light bends and is created as color in our eyes. Being the rather overzealous, passionately curious, intellectual personality types, we just couldn’t resist that conversation. For the counselor, it was rather a brilliant move to distract what could have been a bunch of hysterical teenagers.
   I’m not quite sure what jogged that memory last night, but it did and now I am thinking again about why the sky is blue.

High Winds and Rainbows

Recently a friend reposted something on her blog (which I highly recommend because she writes as if she is the best friend and neighbor you never had and really wanted), but she inspired me to write about something in my life.

We have had quite a few storms here lately, torrential downpours where the streets gain a layer of silt filled dirt flowing down them in small torrents of water. Lightning has pierced clouds and trees, lightening up the night brilliantly with sharp crackles of light. Then, thunder that has rolled follows. There go the tornado sirens again. I’m to the point where I’m just keeping some things in the basement in preparedness so I don’t have to gather them each time. One afternoon this week, after the storm clouds had passed and it was starting to lighten back up, a friend called on her way home from work.

“Did you see it?”

“See what?”
“The rainbow!”

I stepped outside and saw the sky filled with a beautiful rainbow. What a wonderful promise God gives us in a rainbow. Noah was given that sign as a reminder, something like a great big visual sign post that says stop and pay attention. The rainbow was God’s personal promise never to flood the earth like he did in the great flood.
As for me, I have never been a huge fan of storms. I don’t like the unsettled feeling I have with them, not knowing which was the storm will turn or what will come of it. But, the rainbows that sometimes come after are a poignant reminder to me of God’s promise. Not only to Noah, but how he used a rainbow as a sign to me that he was there, present in a stormy time.

I stood at the door of a dorm at the University of Southern Mississippi. I had been there for a week and it was one of the worst weeks of my life. I had never had panic attacks before, but I did there. I won’t go into the long story of it all, but needless to say, I had had an exhausting and anxiety filled week. I was there just for a week for drum camp before the start of school. This was the college I had chosen to go to. Upon arrival, I could feel panic wash over me. I’m not sure why it started then, but it did. A trip to the campus nurse made it worse as I was given something for motion sickness which made me – that’s right – sick. A few animal crackers and cans of Coke were all I had that week, and then a can of chicken broth which tasted wonderful at the time. I remember laying in the bed, feeling very weak and exhausted and crying. In between the crying, I would try to read my Bible, I was seeking for solace where I knew I could find it. On the last full day there before I headed to meet my family in transit to their new home in Ohio, there was a storm. As I said, I’ve never been a fan of storms, but I was so numb by this point, I didn’t care much. It was after that storm, when the dark blue sky stopped throwing rain and thunder and lightning at us, that I looked out. A rainbow! A beautiful, bright rainbow! That storm had passed, but I felt like it had stormed just for me so that I could see the rainbow. It was a reminder to me of God’s promise. I may feel that I’m drowning, but I’ll be safe from the flood.

That was years ago. Many days and storms have passed since then. But, each rainbow I see holds a special meaning for me.

Only in the Storms

We ask why do we have bad storms, cyclones and hurricanes? Asking God, “don’t you realize that you have people here that get hurt with this?” I saw a television show the other day about manna rays. These amazing sea creatures were spiraling in a giant cloud of the agricultural bits that they enjoy. They said that only in cyclones do these animals gather like this, in giant spirals, in a condition created by the cyclone.



It served as a reminder to me that during the storms, the difficult times, when we are wondering where God is and why this is occurring, that there may be some other purpose, literally under the surfaced that we do not see or understand. With that knowledge, it can bring both a hope and understanding to the difficult times.

Seasons

I’m sitting on the front porch, staring up at the big tree in the front yard. Green leaves are popping out everywhere, from all of the branches. They aren’t full size yet, and still have that distinctive fresh and new green color. The leaves are opened as wide as they can, trying to catch the sun. I wonder if that tree could talk, what would it say about spring. Such tremendous growth is present, but there is a lot of work there as well. Winter came and the tree was quiet, no leaves, no growth, just maintaining life, just surviving. Weaker branches fell to the ground during some of the more harsh winter storms, with icy coverings and the weight of thick snows. But now, it looks quite beautiful.


I wonder if that tree could talk, would it opt for the quiet of the winter season? Would it want to remain quiet, not putting forth efforts for new growth. Of course, that tree wouldn’t survive forever in a wintry state. Eventually, it would need the energy it can only get from the sun, through the leaves.


People talk about seasons and history, as if they were circular. And in many cases, they probably are. We see repetition, even commenting on it with quotes about repeating mistakes, going and coming around. But let me just venture this idea out, it’s not really circular – it’s linear. Linear, and mobile. On that line, we can choose to move forward, move back, or stand still. Well, sometimes we choose. Sometimes, it is chosen for us. There may be seasons, times, in our life where we are like the winter tree. We are quiet, we do not produce fruit, we do not grow, we just survive, just maintain life. But spring must come eventually or we will become misshapen and malnourished. It will be effort, purposefully striving to grow, but grow we must. Then, it is a delicate time, full of promise and yet susceptible to damage by the frost.


“I am the vine, you are the branches.” If God is the vine, He can choose that the entire plant will grow. But what about those branches, the ones that just don’t produce leaves or fruit? Remember the branches in the tree, they fell off during the ice storms. We prune away the dead in the spring, removing the damaged parts and allow for new growth to occur. In much the same way, God prunes us. He sees the damaged parts, the parts which do not recover from the blasts of frost, ice, and snow. Those are removed, the energy that we pour into the them can be then sent someplace else. The damaged parts, they must be examined. Some can be fixed. A little time, tender care, and the appropriate actions can cause the damaged section to promote new life, sending off new shoots, in a new direction. Other damages are much more severe and must be removed, lest the whole branch sicken.


We are in a spring, it is a new season, with new days ahead. We can choose to repeat our to seek new growth.