Finding Shelter Amid the Storms

Throughout the past few years, I’ve never really liked how our front porch looked.

In my mind, a front porch should look inviting and warm. Ours looked dark and cold. With a metal table and two chairs, I tried my best to spruce it up with decorative pillows, a bright wreath on the door, or something seasonal related set on the table.

No matter what I did, it still looked uninviting.

I began searching for ideas on what to do. Our backyard deck is one of my favorite places to sit during the early morning hours. By the afternoon, though, the sun is shining down, and the heat is unbearable.

At the same time, in the afternoon, the front porch is in the shade and is nice and cool. That’s when I got the idea. Why don’t we make a beautiful, cozy area in front of the house?

It didn’t take much to convince Craig to change the look. It was a week before Mother’s Day, and he was struggling with an idea of what to get me.

“How about we change up the front porch?” I suggested.

“Done!” He quickly replied.

And off to Target we went.

Welcoming and Inviting

It’s incredible what an outdoor rug, some new white chairs, and cushions can do to brighten up a space! We added some flowers and ‘voila’, it’s the space that I envisioned all these years!

I often sit out here and visit with the neighbors, read or write (as I am currently doing now!) However, my favorite time of sitting out on the porch is during a thunderstorm. Sheltered by our house and the garage, it’s the perfect spot to stay dry and watch the magnificent light display before us.

While the view is good, my company is even better.

My youngest son sits in the chair beside me, and together we enjoy God’s light show.

“Remember when I was little, and you said that thunder and lightning were God bowling and getting strikes?” he asked me during the last storm that rolled through.

That brought a smile to my face! At 16 1/2 years old, he still remembers the little things like that.

A Shelter in the Midst of Storms

I think we can say we are living in the midst of storms. Our country, schools, and even our churches are in great debates over the storms surrounding us.

Wearing a mask vs. not wearing a mask.

Back to the classroom vs. E-learning and homeschool.

Republicans vs. Democrat.

Conservative vs. Liberal.

Mac vs. PC.

Each and everyone one of those that I have listed can cause a significant division among family and friends. Except maybe for the Mac vs. PC debate. Although, I have to admit that when we found out that our Baylor freshman needed a PC instead of a Mac for his engineering degree, I died a little inside! Once you go Mac, you don’t go back!

With the storms of life surrounding us, we need a shelter to protect us.

The Lord is the shelter in our storm.

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91:1 (emphasis added).

The word shelter in the Hebrew language is yāšab. It means “sit, sit down, remain sitting.”

In addition, abide (lun or lin in Hebrew) is defined as, “to leave overnight, to spend the night,”

When chaos encompasses us from all sides, we are to sit in the shelter of the Lord and spend time with Him. We aren’t called to run around and fix things; we are called to sit and wait with the Lord. Much like waiting out a thunderstorm under the safety of a shelter, we wait on the Lord.   This doesn’t mean that we can’t help one another. I view this to mean that if things are out of our control – and the majority of the time they are – we need to wait on the Lord.

As we continue to face the unknown, fear can creep in. Fear of the unknown can paralyze us, and when that happens, we lose sight of the Lord. Let’s not let the enemy get a foothold on us. Let’s stay in the shelter of the Lord and abide in Him.

Resources to Download

Verses to Pray: 31 Days of Prayer for Students, Parents, Teachers, and Staff at Our Schools

Now more than ever, our schools need our prayers! I’ve created this guide for you to pray daily for our students, parent, teachers, and staff. Please click here to download this free resource.

My Identity: A Five-Day Devotional to Remind You of Who You Are in Christ.

In the rush of life, we often forget our true identities, our identity in Christ. In this devotional, you will be reminded that you are forgiven, free, loved, redeemed, and seated. Click here to download.