He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!”

Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

Mark 4:39

Some years ago, my son and I flew to Houston for a weekend in September.  My daughter flew down from Montana and we stayed at my sister’s house.  We made these reservations long before we knew Hurricane Ike was headed right towards the coast of Texas.  Having grown up in Houston and being very familiar with hurricanes, we began the work of preparing for possible disaster even before the news of the hurricane’s impending arrival time became known.

We bought food and water and put things up that were outside and boarded up what windows we could, rounded up flashlights, batteries and the radio.  All that remained to do was pray and wait.  Hurricane Ike hit Houston in the middle of the night.  The winds were howling, rain was pouring, all power went out and the city was dark.  We were housebound for several days along with the rest of the city as crews worked to get roads open and power on.

My sister has two guitars, a piano and a keyboard that did not require electricity, and so we started playing songs.  We spent a long time singing, playing instruments and laughing at our not so good songs and marveling at our great ones. We called ourselves the Hurricane Ike Band!  We had a wonderful, memorable time together, waiting out the storm.

You may not be going through an actual hurricane.  I certainly hope not, but is there a storm that howls at your door and causes you sleepless nights? What answer are you waiting on?  A doctor’s report, a diagnosis, a test to come back or an answer to the question, when God, when? Waiting stinks sometimes, but it does not have to.  We could have huddled over the radio listening to all kinds of bad reports, wrung our hands and made ourselves sick with worry, but we chose instead to create music.  Peace in a storm is possible.  Whatever the storm in your life, God is greater and He is for you, not against you.  Isn’t that something to sing about!

Jesus, calmer of my storms, my Comforter, thank You.  You are always present, always here for me no matter what the circumstances of my life may be, and I am so grateful.  Thank You for keeping me safe through the storm and giving me new songs to sing.  Help me, I pray, to remember that when the storm comes I can count on You. In Jesus’s name, amen.

pic credit: ABC 13