I can hear some of you asking, “Why?” As though cleaning on this scale is weird. Because I can. Because I still have the strength and ability to move furniture, mop floors, wash bedding. Right now, I’m all hot and sweaty, and getting ready to take a shower before sleep. (Because who wants to crawl into a bed with fresh, clean sheets when they are hot and sweaty and feel grimy? Not me.)
WE INTERRUPT THIS POST FOR AN URGENT ANNOUNCEMENT!
The tornado sirens just went off. (If you’re in Illinois, you know what I’m talking about.) I don’t have a basement, so I went to look out the front door. A huge, towering cloud was approaching, backlit by flashes of blue lightning. It is beautiful. I stepped outside to watch. No rain yet, not much wind. But it’s coming. The sirens are going off again.
I remember thinking that if a tornado hits us, I have cleaned my house in vain. Silly, right? I lost count of how many times the sirens sounded in the next couple of hours. There was wind. There was rain. There was thunder. There was danger. The storm is powerful, but I know and trust the Power behind the storm.
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Keep me safe, my God,
for in you I take refuge.
Psalm 16:1 NIV
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Faith is the refusal to panic.
David Martyn Lloyd-Jones
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In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, Lord,
make me dwell in safety.
Psalm 4:8 NIV
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I never did take that shower last night. (Who wants to be naked and wet when a tornado strikes?) But the storm has passed. Today is going to be a good day.
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We will rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24b Living Bible