After the Storm
“And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.” Rev.22:1-5
I don’t think the sun could shine brighter, or the day be more beautiful, less than 24 hours after the 2nd tropical storm in just weeks passed through my area as it flooded the yard again, bringing mud, muck, bugs, making the septic tank unusable, the toilet out of commission, and the water brown, flooding the dog building yet again. The storm wasn’t nearly as bad as forecast, for which I thank God, and all of it reminds me how exceedingly thankful I am for what I have taken for granted most of my life like shelter, clean water, plumbing, a flushing toilet, and oh how I could go on about all for which I am thankful to God! Nevertheless, living on my own with the ministry’s 13 special needs and senior rescued dogs and being hit with two storms so close together coupled with ongoing exhaustion from exceeding ministry responsibilities and virtually no help combined with decades of challenges and losses, the storms reminded me how riddled my life has been for as long as I can remember with one trial or another. Nothing compared with the trials so much of this world faces, but trials challenging for me anyway. When one has spent as much time in darkness or facing darkness as I have, the light and bright of sunshine on a beautiful day stands out immeasurably. And reminds me of this.
No matter the darkness we face on this earth, no matter the trials and troubles, there is a love and light unfathomable, a beauty so breathtaking it is indescribable, a majesty so magnificent it is unimaginable, a sunlight so splendid no human words could come close to describing it, a mercy so sweet and a grace so splendorous that awaits those who repent of their sins, place their trust in Christ as Lord, and genuinely devote their lives to God and His ways. And that is the light who is the Lord who will be so bright in heaven no sun will be needed. So much dark on this earth. So many storms. Trials. Tears. Even for those with relatively easy lives, surely they have challenges and see this world darkening. Oh, but there is a light whose brightness is forever.
The light of Christ who lights the path and leads those who follow Him into God’s arms and Kingdom forever.