I sat in my recliner and listened.
The wind howled outside, the rain beat on the roof, lightning flashed, and thunder pounded. Then suddenly, it stopped. The eerie silence almost made me sick. I strained and listened for the deep, prolonged roar I knew would follow. Through the silence, I heard a high-pitched whine.
My mind went back to the hallway in our little framed house when I was only six years old. My parents grabbed my brother and me and carried us to the windowless hallway. The sound was intense. I could see my parents’ mouths moving, but the roar drowned out their voices. Our house shook and rattled and sounded as if a freight train was about to plow through our home. A fear I had never experienced swept over me.
The whine grew louder, and I snapped back into real time. I heard breaking noises in the distance, and the whining sound intensified. I tried to form a plan and think of the best place to hide my children, hoping these weren’t the last moments of my life. That same overwhelming fear I felt years before swept over me once again. I had no control and no way to manipulate the storm. All I could do was pray for safety. Soon, the strange whine disappeared, and the rain fell again. The pressure in the air changed, and my insides relaxed as I let the melody of the rain lull me back to sleep.
Like the psalmist, all of us have had those intense experiences that cause fear to rise up and hold us hostage. For some, it’s a storm. For others, it is an accident or illness. Events happen and certain triggers cause our emotions to edge. Worrying doesn’t help, panic won’t work, and fear just paralyzes. We have no control over the situation, and our only hope is God. He is the only One we can lean on and trust to see us through.
When the winds start to howl and fear sets in, stop and pray. Trust that God is in control, and rest on His Word and truth. He is the only way you will make it through the storm.
Ask God to help you trust Him when you are afraid.
(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)
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Christy Bass Adams is a mother of two boys. She uses her past classroom experience to teach future educators at Saint Leo University and at North Florida College. Christy serves as the Outreach and Connections Coordinator of Fellowship Baptist Church in Madison, Florida. She also writes a weekly inspirational column in Greene Publishing and maintains a regular blog. When she isn’t teaching or writing, you can find her sitting by the fire, wetting a line in the river, or spending time with her boys. For more from Christy, visit her blog: www.christybassadams.com.