Rain, Rain, Go Away!

What is with the weather?

I have not seen a spring like this in over ten years!

Those in St. Louis have witnessed strange and dangerous weather since New Year's Eve it seems.

A tornado hit our area New Year's Eve, as you know from my previous blogs. Another severe strike happened on Good Friday. During the month of April, it seems we have spent every weekend praying in our basement as sirens sound in the middle of the night and tornadoes continue to touch down around us.

The amount of rain now results in flooding for many neighboring towns as well.

I have wondered at the conversations I overhear everywhere I have gone this week. In the grocery store at the fresh fish counter, I listened to one woman talk about while praying for safety as the tornado bore down on her neighborhood, she saw in awe the giant mass rise and skip her block. She was puzzled as her neighbors' homes were stripped to the ground. How to react? Why their home and not hers?

At the car dealership, I noticed the mechanic had a scripture verse on his desk and a sticker for Y99.1 FM, a Christian station. I said I liked his verse, and he started sharing about surviving the storm. He commented on how God's grace on Good Friday was amazing because in spite of the devastation, no one was killed or seriously harmed.

When I tried to talk about seeing the red cell of tornadic weather part on the television screen as I prayed in my basement for safety, my friend was doubtful.

"I never pray about weather. Why would God spare my home only to take others? I find it silly to pray to God about such things."

I was flabergasted. It still bothers me as I write. Why wouldn't I pray about the weather, I asked. If God can calm the sea by simply saying, "Peace be still," if God can part the Red Sea for the Israelites to walk across to safety, if God created this universe in which we live, why wouldn't I pray during a severe storm for safety and help? I prayed not only for my own family, but that the storm would not hurt anyone in our area and that the storm would go away.

I thank God for parting the red cell on Good Friday. I thank God no one in St. Louis was killed by this F4 tornado.

On the other hand, I do not know why some homes were spared and others flattened. I have no answer for that.

I only know that God directed me to pray about whatever concerns me and to trust in His love and plan for my life.

I now pray for the many without homes.

I also pray for better weather for all of us as we anticipate summer.
Join me, won't you?

For His Glory,
Gretchen