ART & INSPIRATION FROM PAUL & KATHY BOECHER

Waves of wind test the endurance of newly budding trees. The American flag is waving furiously at me, as I look out my side window. The watery blast of April rain is greening up the brown grass and forming new life everywhere. Snow, wind, rain, heat – all evident in the past week in Minnesota. April is a month of transition, I guess. We see changes all across our country – not just in my state, but everywhere. With each passing year, I never fail to marvel at the evidence of God’s power in the weather. Tornadoes, hurricanes, flooding, washing, cleansing and renewing the remnants of the past season. Some of those storms are so powerful, they cause devastation, material loss, loss of life and more. In the midst of all that pain and suffering, stands our Father, God, Jehovah. He is in control – not to cause us pain, but to bring good from it.

The storms of life are hard. Why does God allow those times to penetrate our hearts and souls to the point of depression, anxiety and despair? With each peril we endure, we have the assurance that He is still the same as always. We can count on Him and should depend completely on Him for peace, tranquility and comfort. He isn’t sending these storms to destroy our faith, but to build it. That might seem ludicrous to some, but it makes perfect sense to me.

Who do you run to in times of trouble? Who do you rely on when you can’t take life anymore? Where do you go when all other hope is lost? The darkness of the storms will always provide a rainbow, and beauty can be found in even the most difficult of situations. He is the One who formed the world and the entire universe. He knows what He’s doing. When storms come, you can be sure He’s got this!

“He stretches out the north over the void
    and hangs the earth on nothing.
 He binds up the waters in his thick clouds,
    and the cloud is not split open under them.
 He covers the face of the full moon
    and spreads over it his cloud.
He has inscribed a circle on the face of the waters
    at the boundary between light and darkness.
The pillars of heaven tremble
    and are astounded at his rebuke.” Job 26:7-11