The Bungee Cord
10-8-18

Hello,

     Last week if you were watching the weather channel, you would have seen my house.  Well, not exactly, but you would have seen exactly where I live, because a huge storm cloud that was swirling in the air passed right over my house.  I know that we made national news because we were contacted by some people living in the Midwest wondering if we were okay.

     It was an eerie event when the cloud went over us.  A wall of rain came down out of the southwest, accompanied by 50-60 mile an hour winds.  Swirling leaves joined the pelting rain as the sky got darker. Then, in a matter of a moment, everything changed.  The rain and wind had turned to come from the Northeast.  No twister reached the ground, but the skies were certainly a-swirl.  When we saw the storm coming we followed the warning of the weather channel and went into our lower level where we have a room that is completely cement enclosed.  It is a room under our front porch….we call it our bomb shelter.  (It also serves as our wine cellar…..handy.)  We never had to dash into it, but we were ready if the swirling sky decided to touch the earth.

     Fact is, this isn’t the first voracious storm to wander our way. We live on top of a hill that with the ridge across from us, there is a sort of half-pipe that invites storms to show off their trickery.  It seems that at least once a year, we have very strong straight winds that rattle our windows and walls, and tear off roof shingles.  When our house was being built, the construction company had to secure the outhouse to a tree to keep it from being toppled over by the “breeze”.  I don’t know why the weather channel decided to let the world in on our suffering, because most of the time when the storms descend upon us, we do it unbeknownst to the rest of the world.

     I suspect that the same thing can be said of all of us, and the storms that descend into our lives.  There are times when the winds rattle our lives and knock us off the ground – the death of a loved one, a hospital emergency, a job that disappears, a marriage that breaks up – and people, aware of the storm, will check in to make sure that we are alright.   And we are thankful for their care.  But more often, I am sure that many get hit by some pretty rough storms – depression, family conflict, money concerns – and no one knows.  They struggle and suffer silently.

     There are a variety of reasons why people keep their struggles to themselves.  Maybe they don’t want to seem weak in a world that demeans weaklings.  Maybe they don’t want to pester other people, who have problems of their own, with the struggles that they are dealing with.  Maybe they are embarrassed by their struggles, believing that they are the only ones who deal with such things.  Maybe they don’t have anyone to talk to, or if they do, they don’t have anyone who they think really cares.

     I have personally found out that there are folks around us who erase those reasons for silently suffering, people who are a blessing. Sometimes they are hard to find, but they are there, and like a buried treasure, they are worth hunting for.  So if….no when…storms take aim on you…..know that you don’t have to suffer silently.

     But even more important than hunting for someone with whom to give you bolster when the storms hit, is to know that there is one is hunting for you, to be your be your shelter and shield when the storm clouds approach.  The Lord.

Psalm 46
¹ God is our refuge and strength,
   a very present help in trouble. ² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
   though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; ³ though its waters roar and foam,
   though the mountains tremble with its tumult.
         ⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
   the holy habitation of the Most High. ⁵ God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;
   God will help it when the morning dawns. ⁶ The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter;
   he utters his voice, the earth melts. ⁷ The Lord of hosts is with us;
   the God of Jacob is our refuge.
          ⁸ Come, behold the works of the Lord;
   see what desolations he has brought on the earth. ⁹ He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
   he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear;
   he burns the shields with fire. ¹⁰ ‘Be still, and know that I am God!
   I am exalted among the nations,
   I am exalted in the earth.’ ¹¹ The Lord of hosts is with us;
   the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger