Listen

I found myself in a retail establishment the other day.  A great parking spot had opened up directly in front of the door. Leaving windows and sunroof open (still trying to get used to the heat and humidity in this ‘home away from home’ called Cincinnati) I hurried inside as the cloud cover looked a bit ominous.  In fairness, it had been that way all day.

After shopping for only a few minutes, I noticed a man intently scanning the sky.  His palm was raised as he tested the atmosphere for the nearly imperceptible mist that had begun to swirl from grey and dismal heavens.

Crowd follower that I can be, I joined a number of patrons deciding it would be in our best interest to investigate as well.

The first guy decided to go back inside.  Nothing too threatening was his apparent decision.  Four more people followed him inside with similar opinions.

I’m a chicken.



I closed the windows and so did one other woman.  I mean better safe than sorry, yes?

Going back inside, I found what I was looking for in short order.  As I was in line, the firmament opened with a considerable deluge.  In complete silence, enormous teardrop shaped bombs exploded on the sidewalk, the parking lot and of course, the automobiles awaiting their drivers.

Understand that I’m not patting myself on the back with congratulations for being so wise.  I freely admitted to being a chicken!

But I started wondering about drizzle that was an easily dismissed coating of moisture.  It was warning that perhaps the constant grey was becoming a little less stable, a little more menacing.

Two out of seven of us considered the haze to be worth a moment’s time to protect ourselves.  Five out of seven considered the situation secure enough to ignore.

The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 1 Kings 19: 11-12

Some of you ask about my 2018 “Word of the Year”.  The word is SHEMA.  If you look it up, you’ll find it means ‘to hear’   More than that, it means to “listen” and there’s a twist here as well.  It is defined more as an action.  Listen, yes, but then obey.

Prayers welcome.