It's rare for me to cross the state line into Kentucky. There simply is no need for me to do so often, with the exception of every six to eight weeks. This is when I venture across the bridge to get my hair cut. I know, important stuff.
Now, on a soon-to-be-related note, this area has not seen much rain over the past two months or so. When the heavens opened and poured down Wednesday afternoon, then, I was thankful. It was still bright and pleasant outside, and as I walked to my car after work, there was a beautiful, perfect rainbow in the sky. It was a lovely reminder of God's promises. Little did I know...
I arrived at my destination, where I knew I would be for the next 90 minutes or so. The hair stylist and I chit-chatted about the rain (of which she had seen none; it had not yet rained in that part of the city) and work and upcoming vacations (hers, not mine. What
is a vacation, anyway?). Then, as I sat there, I noticed the sky growing darker. Consulting Twitter, I saw that a severe thunderstorm warning had been issued. "Great, just what I need, strong winds and hail on the way home," I thought. Oh, well.
Within minutes, though, I saw this pop up on my screen:
Yes, you guessed it, I was right there, smack dab in the middle of the red. Tornado sirens started going off and continued to do so for the next hour or so.
The building we were in does not appear to be terribly sturdy, and there is no lower level, so three of us (yes, I made a new friend that night since we were both getting our hair done in the middle of severe weather) hunkered down in a center room where my dear, sweet stylist continued to work. Well, I guess if you have to sit around and wait out a tornado, you might as well keep cutting!
The rain pounded, and while I'm not sure we were the recipients of any monstrous hail (thankfully), it certainly sounded like it! The wind was fierce and the sky was the blackest I've seen in awhile. We prayed together and laughed nervously. The first tornado warning expired and we anticipated the storm would pass by. The rain kept pounding. Then another tornado warning was issued. Then, in one moment, the rain stopped and everything grew eerily still. The three of us looked at each other, anticipating crumpling to the floor, our arms over our heads. But it did not come to that. The rain started again and the second tornado warning expired.
It was an adventure, to say the least.
At the end of it all, there was no damage, we all made it home safely, and I ended up with a rather good haircut (although we had already decided that if something went awry and I ended up with a chunk out of my hair, we were going to call it the "tornado cut" and make a trend out of it). Haircut aside, it would be an understatement to say I was praising God for His protection!
Nights like Wednesday remind me of the magnificence of narrative passages such as Mark 4:35-41:
On that day, when evening came, He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”
This Jesus, the great Master who saved us, not only commands the wind, He created it (Col 1:16)! That, friends, ought to bring us great comfort in times of turmoil.
Whatever the LORD pleases, He does,
In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.
He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;
Who makes lightnings for the rain,
Who brings forth the wind from His treasuries. (Psalm 135:6-7)
Do we rest in the sovereign control of our Lord over all things? May we do so daily, and may He strengthen us to do so in confidence.
Well, I hope you are not reading this while waiting for a tornado to pass, but regardless of where you are, I hope you will enjoy your week in review (kind of):
Exploration was expanding, trade was increasing and the middle class was gaining ground. Educational opportunities were increasing and, by God’s great grace, Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press allowed for a far greater dissemination of ideas. The Renaissance was at its peak and, in the midst of all this, God chose to raise up several well educated, godly, strong-willed, Christ-centered and Scripture-focused men. 
