We were completely unsuspecting. I hadn't checked the weather that day.
I was sitting in my recliner in the bedroom, just getting started on Christina Katz's book, Get Known Before the Book Deal, which covers platform development for writers. Bill had the door open, letting in a nice spring breeze. I noticed a huge gust of wind taking a hold of the trees, the kind that tells of a big storm to come. Then I realized how dark it was getting.
Bill took a trek out the front door to see what was going on, and it didn't look good. A pukey green colored sky was pervading the space between the trees. The wind was getting stronger by the minute. (Bill later heard they were predicting possible wind gusts up to 80 mph.)
I decided to check the weather on Yahoo! and saw that there was severe weather in store. Then Bill turned on the government weather channel where we received minute by minute updates. Then the siren sounded. Yes, THE SIREN SOUNDED. In our city out in the rural country. We've lived here for five years, and not once have we heard a siren sound.
It was truly freaky. There was a tornado spotted only thirty miles west of us, and we were told to take cover.
So my daughter got a blanket, and I got a winter coat to cover ourselves with. Then we huddled in the hallway away from windows. Hannah was talking to her best friend on the cell phone, while I called Mom to let her know we were under a tornado warning.
As I spoke to Mom giving her the blow by blow of what was going on weather wise, Bill was doing the circuit around the house, inside and out, keeping an eye out for any tornadoes that might be headed our way. Yes, in a crises, Bill has always been level headed, calm, and prepared, now with his long rain gear, cowboy hat, and work boots on. Except for the type of hat he was wearing, he reminded me of Inspector Clouseau from the original Pink Panther movies.
He came in once from outside and said the wind gusts were so strong, it blew a squirrel across the road. He said it was quite comical to watch. I just felt bad for the squirrel out in that storm.
One thing I noticed as I huddled in the hallway was the intense pressure I felt in my head. There was a heightened painful pressure between my eyes which I attempted to alleviate by pinching the bridge of my nose between my forefinger and thumb. Plus the base of my skull felt like it was in a vice grip. I had never felt such pressure in a storm before.
A couple of times the lights went out for a couple of seconds and came back on again. Eventually the TV went out, leaving us without updates to accompany the storm.
It continued its wild ways with lots of rain, frequent lightning and that wicked wind stronger than anything we had seen in these parts before.
After about 30 minutes passed, Bill heard that the tornado warning had been cancelled, so we were free to go. I hung up with Mom and told her we'd let her know if anything else started brewing.
The 'crisis' was over; the storm had calmed down although there was still thunder in the distance. We thanked God for protecting us from the storm, an answer to our verbal prayers as we had huddled in the hallway.
God will sometimes send us a siren sounding when we have made a wrong turn or a unwise decision and will show us the right path to take. Those paths are not easy; they are often the road less traveled, the straight and narrow, with lots of bumps along the way. But we are wise to heed God's siren warning, listening carefully to His voice, always being prepared for what may lay ahead. We can trust His Siren sound; and when we follow its warning, we will never regret walking in His path.
Hebrews 3:15 But never forget the warning: "Today you must listen to His voice. Don't harden your hearts against Him as Israel did when they rebelled." (NLT)
Yes, it will always be wise to heed God's siren sound.
Have you heard it lately?
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