Storm Damage

We had a storm Sunday night. It was one of those wonderful middle of the night storms that makes you glad that you are inside. The rain poured as if someone had opened a fire hydrant. The wind was howling—with several gust reaching near hurricane strength—in January. And through it all I was nestled all snug in my bed while visions of caramel cake danced in my head. After all, I was dry and warm and safe.

When I came to the office however, I quickly saw the aftermath. No, our building was safe, no huge branches down—most of them have been blown out in earlier storms! The roof did not leak—at least I didn’t see any visible evidence. But there was a casualty.

Our sign.

Not the one with our name on it, but rather the one that has been hanging over our door proclaiming “Providence is a place to Believe.” It seems that the storm ripped our belief apart.

I wonder how often that happens—in real life. The winds of life blow—with the call from the doctor, with a slip from the boss, with a call from the teacher. The rain just pours down when the children leave, when the car breaks down, when a parent no longer is able to care for themselves the way we remember. It really isn’t anything out of normal. You know the storms are going to come—it’s just that you didn’t expect it now, with this ferocity.

And when they leave, you are surprised to see that the belief, which once hung, is tattered and torn. The eyelets were just ripped out. The brackets which had once held it all in place no longer hold.

So what do you do? We have taken the sign down. It just wouldn’t hold up anymore. And so for a few weeks there won’t be anything over the door. We will still believe—I hope. The sign just won’t be there.

But something new is coming. And in many ways it is what we do when our faith is torn apart by life. We imagine.

So just hold on… Something new is coming!