Blog 2099 – 06.24.2021

The Sound Of Thunder

Early this morning I was awakened by the sound of thunder. Some fear thunderstorms, but I love rain so much that thunder and lightning are to me but heralds of some of the biggest and best rain events. I recall when I first came to southeast Texas, Houston in particular, forty-eight years ago that though I missed the mountains of East Tennessee that I loved the almost daily rain showers and figured that I could get used to that.

Drought in the stories is most always a metaphor for God withholding his or her blessings for this or that infraction. The god of those stories always seemed cruel and petty to me. I particularly like the scripture that says, “He causes his rain to fall on the just and the unjust.” My idea of God is one of a Giver and not a Withholder. In a brief management book I read years ago, The Ten Minute Manager, the writer said the secret to getting the best repeat performance out of your employees is not punishing infractions but simply by catching your people doing something right and rewarding them for it. If a ten minute manager knows that why wouldn’t an eternal god?

Most people I have found are never pleased with the weather or the behavior of others. Whatever it is or they are doing they seem to wish for the opposite. I think the root cause of this discontent is that most folks are really just not happy with themselves. Rain or shine, mountains or flat lands, when we come to understand Who and Whose we truly are there is such an inner contentment and joy that we seem to find happiness all around us. Jesus once said, “The kingdom of Heaven is within you.” Lost your keys to the kingdom? Where did you leave them. We did see them last? They are right there in your own heart of hearts, kept safe and secure for you. One Bible writer pictures Heaven as an eternal cloudless day. To each his own. My heavenly experience is punctuated with the sound of thunder, flashing lightning, and the melodious rhythm of the rain on the roof. Nothing to me makes the face of the world or my own look brighter than a good cleansing refreshing rain.

My constant and often granted wish is that it might rain.

Your friend and fellow traveler,

David White

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lYfJCULjntaBSPsbeHKQytfcV3L1oqqd/view?usp=drivesdk

Fire and Rain