God says "I will"

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Traveling home from school on Friday, my youngest daughter and I watched the sky as it grew darker and darker and then it began to take on a greenish hue. Less than five miles from home, the bottom exploded out of the clouds and we were engulfed in torrential rain. From that moment, a trip that normally took me five minutes, took more than fifteen as I fought heavy winds that threatened to blow my truck off the highway and rain that was falling so hard you couldn’t see more than a foot in front of the vehicle. Headlights came on, windshield wipers were on high and by the time I finally reached my driveway, I was so tense that my neck, shoulders and head hurt to move them. Then it hit me: the umbrellas were in the house. Lauren reached into the back seat and found two jackets and we stuck as much into our purses as we could and decided to leave the rest in the truck until later. We counted to three and yelled “Go” like two little kids. As the first wave of rain hit us, we started laughing and took off, trying to run through the downpour. The water was running down the sidewalk so quickly that it was acting as a suction to the bottom of our shoes; I took a step and my foot came completely out of my sandal. I yelled at Lauren to wait but she was busy trying to pick up her own shoe from the water that was at least 7 inches deep. We came around the back of the house to come upstairs and a huge bolt of lightning came slashing across the sky above the lake followed by a deafening clap of thunder. The wind was whipping the lake into a frenzy. Then I heard the sound that nearly broke my heart. Our neighbors dog was on the back porch and scared to death. I flew up the stairs to grab my key to his house and met Mike at the front door, on his way out to get Bandit out of the weather. His owner, stuck at work, had called when the unexpected storm had blown in. Two hours later it was all over and the was once again peeking through the clouds, though the electricity was still off. I leaned against the door leading to my balcony and looked out over the water. The lake was calm with the tree limbs, no longer bent in the wind, reflecting off the small ripples in the water. A wet nose on my ankle drew my attention from the view…to Bandit. He was now warm, dry and the fear was gone. He dropped his ball at my feet, ready to play. A sure sign that the fear was no longer there. He felt safe. And so it is with us and our Father. How I wish I could be more like Bandit. Ready to drop my guard and trust that no matter what comes my way, I’m going to be taken care of! I’m very good at laying down my fears at the foot of the cross. I’m just not good at leaving them there. But God’s word is very clear. Isaiah 43:2 says : When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned or scorched, nor will the flame kindle upon you. He doesn’t say he might be there, or if He feels like it he’ll protect us. He says “I WILL” . What a promise and one that I need to strive to remember….and not worry so much about what’s hidden within the winds and waves of the next storm.