Image By Erin L. Hopkins — Image By Erin Lynn Hopkins

The most serene moment in nature is the quiet right after a storm. She was reminded of this recently when the storm of all storms blew through her neighborhood on what she thought would be a peaceful evening. She had drifted off to sleep that otherwise uneventful evening when she was jolted awake by loud booms and crashes of thunder. She got up and went to the patio door to see what was going on as torrential rain poured from the sky and what seemed like hurricane-force winds slammed against the apartment building’s brick sides. She just knew they were in the midst of a tornado and the glass patio doors and windows would shatter at any moment. She returned to her work area and sat quietly in complete submission to God’s cleansing. She did not dare move until it was over. When she awoke early the next morning she stepped out onto the patio and stood awestruck at the stillness and quiet. Nothing moved except the slightest of breezes across her tear-stained cheeks. The storm was over, and the peace that surpasses all understanding settled into her previously shattered heart. She tilted her eyes toward the Heavens and whispered a breathless thank you to the God who loved her so much. She was finally free and with the greatest of humility accepted God’s gift that she and those she loved so much would live to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.