Yesterday, I stayed close to home because of all the storms that were predicted to come barreling through our region. I placed blankets and pillows in the downstairs bathroom in case Carl, Bee, and I had to retreat to our safe place. These last couple of days have been full of unknowns. Carl has recovered from the bite that led to his head swelling up. After a steroid shot and a good dose of an anti-inflammatory drug, his face has returned to its natural state. We are still unsure what bit him. We think it could have been either a snake or a spider but now it is in the past.
The storms came through but thankfully, we were not personally impacted. There was a time when the thunder clouds produced large hail and lightning strikes close to the house but other than that, it was not very eventful for the two dogs and myself.
I have been reading in Exodus about the plagues that God brought down on Egypt because of Pharaoh’s refusal to let the Israelites leave. I can’t imagine what the people must have thought as the rivers and ponds turned to blood or when the frogs came out of nowhere and made their way into everyone’s homes. Other than Pharaoh, Moses, and Aaron, the majority of people had no idea why God was doing this to them. I am sure most of them had to be asking why?
Don’t we all ask why when we are faced with the unknowns that fill our in box. We may encounter a personal tragedy or share a plague with people close to us. No matter the situation, we have a tendency to develop an attitude when life doesn’t turn out the way we think it should.
This is why I am so thankful for the Word of God. If the story about the plagues ended with the frogs or locusts, I would be in a confused state of mind. But it doesn’t. It ends when the Israelites are released after four hundred years of captivity and hard labor. Released to go towards the Promised Land that God had promised them in the days of Abraham. And to top it off, God showed himself to them through a cloud in the day and a pillar of fire at night. Never leaving them. And I believe He is the same God as He was then. But now, He leads me through his Word.
Bee and Carl are back to their normal selves. Instead of barking at the thunderstorms that came through yesterday, they are barking at the repairmen that are working next door. Life in this moment is without a plague but when the next one does comes through, I need to focus on how much God loves me and know He is working for my good and his glory.