Aug
14
2018

Torrential Rain

Posted in Faith | 2 Comments

The flash flood alerts kept coming to my phone.
I always appreciate the alerts.
They are helpful for tracking storms.
They are helpful as rainfall or snowfall amounts are posted.

Sometimes, a flash flood alert comes and it amounts to nothing.
We tend to lose power here in the country, so when a big storm is coming, I fill the bathtub.
I fill the bathtub because when we lose electricity, we cannot run our water.
Having water in the bathtub comes in handy for necessities.

My children tease me that every time I fill the bathtub, we do not lose power.
When I fail to fill the bathtub, the power inevitably goes off.
The alerts came during the night.
I did not fill the bathtub; we thankfully did not lose power.

The torrential rain pelted the roof.
I even saw flashes of lightning in our bathroom skylights.
I heard distant rumbles of thunder.
This storm was more about the amount of rainfall.

I agree with my youngest daughter.
The sound of rain is a pleasant thing.
Especially when there is no thunder and lightning, the rain can be soothing.
I like to sit on my side porch and listen to the rain.

This rain fell sideways.
This rain was deafening.
This rain fell so fast the gutters could not keep up.
This rain filled whatever it could find unimaginably fast.

A decorative watering can on my back deck is always my unofficial gauge.
When I empty it after the rain stops, I look to see how many inches of water are inside.
After this rainfall, I emptied about three inches of water.
I knew without even checking social media that many local roads were flooded.

My husband left for work in the rain, which had subsided a bit as he drove away.
He called me minutes later to tell me that a certain nearby road was impassable.
He had to turn and go another way.
He suggested that I and our youngest daughter stay put, at least for the morning.

I suggested that he work from home.
He said he was fine.
The roads he was driving on at this point of our conversation were fine.
Social media said otherwise.

Our town has a Facebook group.
It is just for the women and it is used to keep us up to date on things.
Lost pets, power outages, and recommendations are all found on this page.
It was through this group that I learned just how bad the roads really were.

My husband was truly beyond the impassable roads once he went another way.
However, the Brandywine River runs along a winding state road not far from our house.
It is a lovely road, a favorite of cyclists.
It is beautiful to drive along this winding road and follow the river.

I did not go out until later in the day.
The storm had ended by then.
The flash flood alert was no longer in effect.
However, the effects of the torrential rain were everywhere.

As I drove along this bucolic route, I saw loose stones and mud that was caked on the road.
I looked down towards the river.
The water was rushing.
The water was literally at the banks of the river.

In the height of the storm, the river obviously overflowed its banks.
That was the debris I saw on the road.
The river was beautiful.
The river was also treacherous.

 Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they took it up and went ahead of them. And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’” Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites. See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord—the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.” So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground. (Joshua 3:5-17)

Joshua was the new leader of the Israelites after Moses had died.
God wanted to show the people that He was with Joshua as he was with Moses.
The people had already seen the miraculous parting of the Red Sea.
God did something similar again.

The Jordan River was at flood stage.
As soon as the priests carrying the Ark reached the water’s edge, the water stopped flowing.
The water piled up in a heap until the people crossed the Jordan River safely.
The people had seen this miracle before.

I thought of the Israelites crossing the Jordan as I drove along the Brandywine River.
The river was a flood stage.
I had been getting alerts all morning.
I would have been very skeptical if someone told me to put my foot in the Brandywine River.

But with God all things are possible.
God can stop the water from flowing and pile the water up in a heap.
God can do anything.
I thought of God’s words to Job as He asked Job questions that only God could answer.

I declared: You may come this far, but no further; here your proud waves must stop.
(Job 38:11)

Only God has that kind of power.
Only God can part a sea.
Only God can pile up the waters of a river in a heap.
Only God.

Be amazed at His majesty when you see His awesome power in nature.
Be thankful when He halts the waves and commands them to stay within their banks.
Be in awe when you see the minutest detail handled by our Creator God.
We are in good hands.

 

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