Powerful, Yet Peaceful

 

Before moving to the suburbs of Detroit, I asked our realtor if there was any place where we wouldn’t be able to hear traffic. The constant noise of traffic was bothersome, especially after living in a rural area of California.

“Well, you could get a water feature,” she suggested. Hadn’t thought of that! With time though I have become used to the traffic, except for the weekend of the Dream Cruise on Woodward Avenue, when fancy cars with loud mufflers roar through the neighborhoods. No drowning those sounds out!

 It didn’t take long to discover that there actually is a natural water feature that works very well—the rain! Although it isn’t constantly raining, it does happen regularly and sometimes turns into a deluge!

I was sitting outside with our dog one afternoon when sprinkles of rain began hitting the pavement. When the raindrops came faster, TJ and I both moved into the garage, keeping the garage door open. It was pleasant, almost mesmerizing…sitting quietly, watching the rain and spending time in prayer.

Without warning though, there was a real downpour. TJ looked a little worried, in spite of my assuring him that we were safe and would stay dry in the garage. At least there wasn’t any lightning or thunder. He and I would have made a dash to the house if that had been the case.

Where did all of that water come from? Being from the central valley of California where drought was a constant problem, the weather in Michigan never ceased to amaze me.

After about twenty minutes of sheltering in the garage, the rain stopped…just like that! TJ surprised me by running to the gate, looking out at the front yard and wagging his tail. Around the corner of the house came our neighbor, Melinda, laughing as she approached the gate.

 “Oh, so that’s where you were,” she said. “I tried calling and texting you, but no answer.”

“Did you get caught in the downpour?” I wanted to know. She had walked the distance from her house to ours, almost a half mile.

“The rain started just as I reached your front door. No one answered the doorbell, so I sat on the porch. It’s a good thing you have an overhang!”

 I apologized for not having the cell phone with me and was glad that she had found refuge from the rain. She wanted to share some homemade strawberry mousse and herbs from her garden with Al and me. Then, she went on her way. The unexpected rainstorm, a thoughtful neighbor and laughter too were all special gifts that day.

Al and I were able to enjoy and appreciate another demonstration of the power of water about a week after the rainstorm. We decided to celebrate the coming of fall by driving to an apple cider mill for fresh donuts and cider one Saturday morning.

 The antique water wheel, restored and operational, was powered by water diverted from a nearby stream. Water poured out through a pipe overhead onto the blades of the huge wheel,  rotating it clockwise. In that way, power was provided to operate the apple press located inside the building.

 “It seems like we’re in Yosemite!” remarked Al, looking at the excited crowd of people with lots of children, waiting in line for donuts, cider and other goodies.

Imagine David as a youth, guarding his father’s flocks of sheep while they grazed in the fields outside Bethlehem. Downpours of rain, loud claps of thunder and awesome flashes of lightning impressed on young David, as they do upon me, the might and power of our Creator, God.

In Psalm 29, David wrote, “The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful, the voice of the Lord is majestic…”

What can drown out the sound of mighty waters? God’s voice! But what often is heard as a soft whisper? The voice of the Lord! David knew well that God was to be respected and feared for His mighty power, but also knew Him personally as his good Shepherd.

He ended the psalm with these words: “The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.”

God, King of the Universe, desires to reign on the throne of our hearts. May we honor and serve Him with whole-hearted devotion. He loves us!

Psalm 29: 3-4, 11 NIV