Feeling Small in the Night
Posted on August 24, 2007
Filed Under Personal, Worldview |
Ok…the chipmunk is gone. Sorry to disappoint any of you who were hoping to take advantage of my offer.
However, something else got into our house last night.
My wife and I were sitting at our dinner table yesterday evening, enjoying the house, sans chipmunk. We had the deck door wide open again because we love the outdoors and because, from the table, we can easily spot our chipmunk invader. Neither of us thought he would be back anytime soon, though, primarily because the cashews were all gone.
Anyway, the wind picked up and we were enjoying the sound it makes in the pines, when all of a sudden, the biggest hail stone I have ever seen hit the deck like a big rock. It bounced into the air, through the doorway and went flying across the sunroom into the kitchen. Then another hit the barbecue grill and bounced halfway into the living room. It took a second, but we realized we were about to get hit with a mammoth hail storm.
I have mentioned before that my wife has our deck balcony lined with gorgeous geraniums and flowers. They are all in full bloom right now. She has workd hard to get them all ready for our family reunion next week. I yelled, “The flowers!” and she ran outside, despite my warnings of getting her cranium cracked, while I grabbed my down-filled ski coat, pulling the hood up over my skull as I headed out. We got most of them inside before the pummeling really hit.
And, boy, did it.
As we were scurrying back and forth with the plants, the hail was banging around us
and some bounced as far as 20 feet into the house. We finally got the door shut and watched as it then pounded everything. Each hit the deck so hard, it sounded like a hammer. The hailstones were so large and their rebound so strong, hitting the windows with such force, that I was sure it would break the glass. Miraculously, it never did.
Thankfully, the storm lasted only ten minutes or so. We picked up the hailstones that had invaded our house, mopped up the water, and felt pretty thankful.
In the morning light, I did a brief survey and was amazed to see that the Lord kept us from severe damage. I don’t know what the inspectors will say about the roof, but considering what could have happened, we came through pretty well. My jeep is riddled with dents, but no broken windows. The outside flower plants are stripped, house siding and window sills are damaged, several trailer lights are broken and two skylights are smashed. But, my old tractor actually looks a little better. I think the hail straightened out more dents than it put in.
But something happened in the middle of the night. I was awakened by the deep rumble of thunder. I could feel it shake the bed. That wasn’t unusual. We have some pretty good thunderstorms here. But the memory of the sound of those hailstones hitting the deck and rocketing into the house and against the windows came back to me, and I began to feel small.
Everything is intensified in the middle of the night, you know.
I thought about the hail that God brought upon Egypt when Pharaoh defied God. Moses warned them to bring everything into the houses, because the hail would kill anything left in the fields. It was the worst hailstorm Egypt had ever seen. It even “shattered” the trees.
I remembered the five kings who came against Israel when God sent a storm upon them with hailstones so large that more died in the pounding of hail than in battle.
I remembered the terror of the hail in Revelation when the first trumpet sounded.
It thundered again and I felt even smaller.
My mind then went back to events of the last week: the picture of the satellite image of the massive hurricane Neal dwarfing the Caribbean; the terrible storms and flooding throughout the Midwest; the earth collapsing over the six miners in Utah; the 8.0 earthquake that turned thousands of Peruvian homes to dust, killing over 500.
In the presence of the awesome power God put within creation, we are shown to be very small and very vulnerable.
That may be their main purpose.
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5 Responses to “Feeling Small in the Night”
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Dr. Del Tackett is president of the Focus on the Family Institute and Senior Vice President to Focus on the Family. He is also the architect and chief spokesperson for Focus on the Family's The Truth Project--a nationwide initiative designed to bring the Christian worldview to the body of Christ.
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Reading your blog reminds me all too well how much I miss you and everyone at FFI…
Glad to hear that the Lord kept you safe! It is amazing how the Lord can use everything around us to teach us lessons.
Darling Murray
Summer 2007
Hi Del,
I find amazing encouragement in your story about the hail and your midnight meditation, it so casts the light of truth on the word of God. Fear though we will His wrath when He sends it, it is the glorious plan, as foretold in the scriptures materializing right before our eyes.
I don’t ever want to see hail that size or bigger or even smaller for that matter, but if it never comes to pass where does that put all that we believe? Thank You for the stories and the pictures, my ZEAL for the truth and my God is swelling as I think about it.
God Bless you and yours,
Sincerely,
Tom S
What a storm and display of God’s power!How wonderful that God is not only all- powerful,but also all- merciful and all- loving toward us small and vulnerable persons!
While in college I lived in an Airstream travel trailer. We had a golf ball sized hailstorm one night. I awoke with the deafing sound, beating all around me. Just imagine being inside a soda can during that hail storm. The short 15-20 minutes that it lasted seemed like forever. I will never forget it.
Since that night on I shudder everytime I read about the hail storms in the bible. Nothing like realized the power of God as it happens in your life.
Del,
It’s good to hear that some people DO still preach and talk about Hell