Wow…we really are between storms, aren’t we? The last two weeks have brought a series of severe storms through Central Illinois, otherwise known as 'Tornado Alley.' My first experience in the 'alley' was at the ripe age of ten.…May 15, 1968. Mother and Sister made a quick grocery run to the Clinton IGA while I was engrossed in my favorite episode of “I Love Lucy“. The grocery run was anything but quick….in fact it seemed like an eternity. While I was glued to Lucy and Ethel, the TV shut off with a snap. I could hear the wind beginning to howl and I ran to the living room to investigate. As I peered out the front window, a sea of green and black rolling clouds boiled in the distance. The thick, heavy atmosphere was saturated with pea green pigment, and pouring rain quickly turned to pounding hail. The roaring wind bent the trees sideways and hard as tried, I couldn’t get the back door open to run to the neighbors for protection. Terrified and alone, I ran back to the front window crying hysterically as twin tornadoes blew by to ravage Wapella, and floodwaters were unleashed by a broken levy.
Life is filled with roaring winds, hail, and rising floodwaters. What storm is brewing on your horizon? Or are you so engrossed in real life drama that you don’t even notice….until it’s raging out of control?? Are you terrified at times and feeling all alone?
Matthew 8:26 “….why are you so afraid? Then He got up
and rebuked the wind and the waves, and it was completely calm”.
The Lord rescued me in 1968 and I was literally carried to higher ground. God is still rescuing me today and He continues to carry me to higher ground.
Is it any wonder that I abhor the “Wizard of Oz?
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Jan Dial most graciously accepted my call to write for my most neglected blog.
Thanks, Jan:)
Jan hails from her little school house in the country north of Decatur, IL. She is in love with her husband Roger to whom she has been married for nearly thirty years. Roger and Jan are the parents of thirty-one year old Mindy, who is studying nursing, twenty-four-year-old old Alex, an explosive specialist in Afghanistan, and fifteen-year-old Ben, a freshmen at Decatur Christian School. (Note 3 children born in 3 different decades...was she nuts or what???) Jan works as a Grief Counselor for the Decatur Memorial Hospital Hospice Program in Decatur. She is passionate about Jesus, Roger, family, singing with her ‘Soul Sisters’ and coffee!!!! She also loves photography, floral design, flower/vegetable gardening, and water sports. Jan loves to swim with her seven year old twins Isaiah and Tierney and three year old Keagan. She is excited to take the plunge into blogging. Anyone care to take a dip??
