The Clock in the Thunderstorm

Finding Calm in the Midst of the Noise

Last night we had a doozy of a thunderstorm.  It was one of those flashing, crashing, eardrum-splitting tempests that rattled our windows and set off car alarms all over the neighborhood.  There was wind and rain too, of course, but not a lot of either.  No, this storm was mainly just noise.  Have you ever been in one of those moods where you don't have a lot to say, you just need to say it LOUDLY?  I certainly have.  It's funny to think that maybe God sometimes feels that way Himself now and then.

Anyway, back to the storm, in the midst of all that clattering, banging ruckus I became oddly aware of another sound - it was the quiet, steady ticking of the grandfather clock in the living room.  I'm not sure why I happened to notice it, but once I did, I found myself listening intently after each clap of thunder, to see how quickly I could locate that familiar reassuring beat.  Not surprisingly, I became so in tune with the rhythm of the pendulum that I could swear I heard it even during the loudest boom.  Or maybe it was just that I reached a point where I was so totally in syc with the precisely measured cadence that I could literally feel it.  Comfort.  Peace.  Comfort.  Peace.  Comfort.  Peace.

My life is not often a thunderstorm.  Mainly it's just the plain old noise of every day.  But the net effect on my nerves can be much the same.  Deuteronomy 30:20 says, "Listen to His voice and hold fast to Him."  Sounds good to me.  How about you?