After the Storm | Previous Challenge Entry

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TITLE: After the Storm | Previous Challenge Entry
By Marilyn Borga
05/06/21
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I remember a summer storm when I was a child. The warm air felt stuffy as if I were trapped in a giant bottle. The sky darkened as the distant clouds gathered and grumbled. Heat lightning on the horizon looked like a hoard of fireflies. The land seemed to shiver in anticipation of much-needed rain.

The storm threatened and teased, then quieted into a stand-offish truce. Nighttime came. We all settled into our beds, windows wide open, in the hope of catching a cooling breeze. Despite the closeness and humidity that caused me to sweat and toss, I fell asleep, only to be awakened by a terrifying clap of thunder.

Light flooded the room with each booming roar. Rain clattered against the glass as I ran to shut the window. The old wooden farmhouse trembled as the wind shrieked through the cracks in the walls. Amid the noisy chaos, I drifted back to sleep.

I awoke to bright sunlight shining through my window. I skipped bare-footed across the worn linoleum to the kitchen door and stepped onto the concrete stoop. The powdery blue sky was cloudless; green grass glistened with silver dewdrops. The leaves of the garden vegetables, pale and droopy the day before, now rustled with renewed vigor after the rain. The lightning had oxidized the nitrogen in the atmosphere and renewed the soil. I took a deep breath. The air that had been oppressive yesterday was now clean and fresh.

God, who created the earth’s weather patterns and set them in place, has a purpose for everything, both the calm and the storms. As in nature, my life has had a combination of storms amid the calm. I don’t always understand why troubles and sorrows must come, but I’ve learned to trust in God’s faithfulness to see me through. In those times when winds of sorrow shake me to the core or when trouble grasps me with a heartless grip, I know my God will carry me through the night. I know that morning will come.

Jesus told the parable of a widow who appeared before a judge and continually begged him for justice against her adversary. This judge cared for neither God nor man, yet,
because the widow was so persistent, he finally granted her plea. Jesus told this story so we would not lose heart. God cares for his people. He will reward our faith. He will hear our persistent prayers.

So I enter my room and once again petition the Judge who loves mercy. I plea for my friend who is battling cancer and the one who struggles with depression. I pull on God’s robe and remind him about my loved ones who still walk in darkness. I cry out about the anger and hatred I see around me that threatens to tear the world apart. I beg him to help me shine his light in the darkness. I ask for forgiveness for the mercy I failed to show yesterday and the strength to be kinder today. I search his book to find wisdom. I persist in my seeking. I continue in prayer, knowing that he will see me through the trials.

After my prayer time, the world seems brighter. Hope is stronger. Peace fills my soul. I feel as refreshed as I did that morning after the storm.

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