Hurricane Dennis Parable-God reveals Himself through nature

      I had the perfect place to watch the storm. Hurricane Dennis was arriving with 50-60 mph wind gusts. God had already calmed him down and kept us safe and sound here in Alabama. We were expecting more wind and rain than what actually came, and were thankful. At 9 :30 pm until around 11pm we had a lot of strong gusts here where I am located in West Central Al.
      And yes, my front porch swing was the perfect place to experience this power---this power that my God could calm with just a whisper.

Hurricane Parable:  Strength from a Drought

       I've always loved the wind--loved trees and all the sights and sounds of nature--but the best thing was to get to feel it in a strong, yet peaceful way. This was what happened to me on the night of July 10, 2005.
     This was no ordinary event. For Alabama to be in an area expecting hurricane force winds wasn't your typical stormy Sunday evening. We had done everything we needed to do to prepare and now were just waiting, listening to James Spann, our weather forecaster.  Would our trees be able to hold on? Their parched arms waved excitedly in the anticipation of rain.
        Then I remembered my disappointment of not getting rain about a week ago when we so desperately needed it. It seemed that our community was left out of the rain showers each day and we were in a drought. "We need rain! " I would beg God. He was supposed to know what was best, and this drought was not best, I arrogantly exclaimed!
     But now the rains had come and the trees would be able to hold on. In the other areas of the state that had received abundant rain the week before, those areas had become over- saturated, and the trees were vulnerable to fall.
      Do we question the wisdom of God when things don't go the way we think they should? Our trees needed rain, why didn't God send it? I thought I knew best. As it turned out, it was best for our trees not to have had the ground so saturated. The rains of Hurricane Dennis came as a blessing to them, not an uprooting. Strength from a drought. Strength from a storm.

Written by Janet Latham