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THUNDERSTORMS
A few years ago we had a Tornado that ripped through our little town. It came up fast, and the fact that we had never had one here before caused most of us to get caught off guard. My daughter-in-law called me and asked if we were in our basement? I said no, I am watching Syracuse play in the NCAA tournament. She told me that there was a Tornado heading our way and that we had better take cover. So like every other storm that comes through, rather than going to the basement when the siren went off, I went out into the back yard to watch the storm. Ok, I admit when I heard a sound like a locomotive coming from the west I ran into the house and told Patty that we needed to go to the basement. Unlike many of our neighbors who live across the road, we had very little damage, but I was left with the question…why do I run outside when a storm comes instead of taking cover?
As I thought about my lack of fear when it comes to even violent storms, I had a memory of when I was around 5 years old sitting on my dad’s lap on our screened in porch as a violent thunderstorm approached. My dad loved watching storms and when I would sit on his lap I felt safe and secure. Even as I sit here today writing this, when I close my eyes and think back, I can feel the spray of the rain being blown through the screen. When there was a flash of lightening dad would count; one thousand one, one thousand two and so on until we heard thunder. He told me that is the way to determine how far away the lightening was. When we saw a flash and there was an immediate bang…the kind that would make you jump…he would say, “whoa Peter that was a close one.” However, I never was afraid while sitting on his lap.
Photo by Vishnu TB on Unsplash
A number of years ago I was asked to think about a time when I was a beloved son. What I mean by that is a time when I felt loved and knew that in my dads presence I was safe. You guessed it, I said they were the times when I sat in his lap during thunder storms. However, like many men that I have talked with over the years, those times were few and they didn’t last very long. Unfortunately there are far more memories of when I was missed by my father, or when I felt like I was in the way, or he didn’t have time for me. That caused me a lot of pain over my life time.
If I am honest, there were many situations where I wasn’t sure if I was loved, or safe, or would be taken care of. There have been many times over the years when I would have given anything to be able to ask my dad why? Why did it end? What did I do, or didn’t do that caused him to pull away?
My dad died 29 years ago at at the age of 68…I will never know the answers to my questions, and that makes me sad. I know that he was a good man, and like many good men, he had many of his own wounds from a hard life. After many years of doing major work on my own heart, I can honestly say that dad did the best that he could with what he had to work with. And while I would love to have answers, what I do have is an understanding that while Zeke was my earthly father, my Heavenly Father, Abba, does see me as, and calls me his Beloved Son.
Today I am aware that that is what it is like to trust our Heavenly Father as his Beloved Son. The storms come…some of them violent, however, when we lean back into the Fathers chest, we can sit through the storm feeling safe, and being confident in His strength. That is what is like to be the Beloved Son of God.
So what about you? Do you remember when you were the beloved son or daughter? How did you feel? Whatever the answer is to that question, you can rest assured that Abba is your Father and you are his Beloved Child.
-Pete
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