storm comfort

The preacher at the conference I attended last week told a beautiful story. Our preacher....an African American minister from Memphis. He told about being a child visiting his grandmother.

During storms his grandmother would unplug all things in the house and gather everyone in the living room on the couch. She asked for quiet in the room. "Shhhhh be quiet." "But grandma, why do we have to be quiet?" "Shhhhhh hush boy!" his grandmother would say. "Hush, this is God's time to talk."

There they would sit. The thunder booming, the lightning flashing. Quiet inside....Noise outside. As the storm would progress the boy's grandmother would begin to hum. Her hum glorifying God's presence and speech.

Storms come and go. Some storms leave their mark on our lives. Yet in it all God is present....speaking. Perhaps the time has come for us to be quiet. Shhhhh, listen. What is God saying. Be still, be quiet. Listen. Stay quiet. Calm.