In the Midst of the Storm

As we come up on the end of our school year, many thoughts fill my mind and take stock of the year in review.

One of my favorite illustrations in the Bible is when Jesus tells the story of the man who built his house upon the rock and because he took such care, it withstood the storms; versus the one who built his house upon the sand and it was destroyed when the storms came.  (Luke chapter 6: 46-49) It’s a helpful reminder that foundations are important. A building well-made can last hundreds, even thousands of years.  Where one poorly made building will soon be worthless. 

This year has been a year to test our foundations, to see if our foundation was firm enough to withstand the envy, and strife ,and pressures of our world right now.  

I was trying to think of my own visual of what we have experienced this year and what came to mind was a snow globe.  Have you ever seen a small child get ahold of a snow globe.? They are shaking that thing with everything they have, and this year, I felt like I was the tiny little person in that snow globe – in the hands of a very curious and determined preschooler –  and I was holding on for dear life. 

What is interesting is that, to this day, I have never seen a snow globe where the tiny little person inside is flung all over the place.  In every snow globe I have had (maybe I got lucky) the tiny little person is just there taking the ride and not going anywhere.   Those tiny little people in the snow globes have the right attitude!

Then I found an amazing snow globe.  Inside this snow globe you will not find tiny little people clinging for dear life, but a great big wooden cross that says, “When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”  Psalms 61:2.   Wow – that’s the kind of foundation we all need.  To remember that in the midst of any storm – even a global snow storm, we can have someone to rely on: someone who understands our trials, and our tribulations.

Jesus wrapped himself in flesh and the God of creation knew what it feels like to be human, to experience political unrest, to lose friends, to be mocked, to be betrayed, to be crucified.  And no matter what storm you are going through, he is there for you.  He is as close as the mentioning of his name.  

Maybe right now we may feel pretty good.  We might feel like we’ve been sitting on the shelf and the snow is nice and quiet around our feet.  Trust me, that little kid has been watching us… and he’s going to grab that globe and shake the life out of it when he gets the chance.  And when he does, will we be on the rock?  Will we have that firm foundation that lets us just go for the ride?  I really hope so, because the truth is snow globes are great and sometimes we do need just a little shaking to remind us that our foundation will stand.