You Can Count on This
It started like a normal trip to Walmart … as normal as you get with six kids in tow.
We unloaded into the parking lot, secured a couple of buggies (that’s what we call shopping carts in the south), and set off to conquer the list. First stop, toothbrushes. Second stop, laundry basket. A few more stops before we needed a bathroom break (even though I asked everyone to go before we left the house).
We made it up and down a few grocery isles before I abandoned the list entirely and declared the shopping trip over. As we neared the check out I knew my minutes ran short. I had very little time before this egg-shell of control cracked and spilled chaos out all over the place.
I picked a line with little hope we’d make the wait and just like that God smiled on me. A cashier one line over opened up and looked directly at me to say, “Mam, I can take you over here.” Happy dance! Six helpers transferred two carts worth of goods onto the belt and things started looking up.
Until we heard the hail. Hail pounding so loud on the roof my 3-year old covered his ears. I prayed as we walked to the door, only to find out I wasn’t going anywhere. “We can’t let you leave, mam. There’s a weather alert, and we need you to go to the center of the store.”
With a smile and an okay, my caravan pointed in the other direction. And I can’t explain it, but in the midst of this literal whirlwind, peace blanketed my little army.
The two kids who spent most of the morning pushing and poking each other now sat side-by-side in the cart without a word or a shove. My oldest son, who normally needs to know why I ask him to do anything, followed behind me, pushing a loaded-down cart, without a question. He didn’t know where we were going – none of us did – but everyone seemed to shed any shred resistance and for those moments, just rest.
You will keep the mind that is dependent on You in perfect peace, for it is trusting in You.” Isaiah 26:3 (HCSB)
As we stood there next to the fitting rooms, a song from my childhood danced through my thoughts and twirled right off my tongue, He’s got the wind and the rain in His hands. He’s got the wind and the rain in His hands … He’s got the whole world in his hands.
By the time we finished the song, they told us it was safe to leave. The skies looked no lighter than before, but we knew we had to make a break for it while we could. At the door God met me with another gift. A lady with the simple words, “Can I help you?” She helped me load kids and groceries into the car and before we parted we stopped to hug.
On the way home, we took a quick detour under an overpass amidst another tornado warning and finally hustled into the house about an hour later.
O LORD of hosts, How blessed is the man who trusts in You!” Psalm 84:12 (NASB)
The thunder still rumbles outside my window even as I write, and I’d be lying if I said I’m not checking the radar every 20 minutes. But in the middle of the storm, I witnessed this blessing – the joy of trusting in God. As I look back, and I see His fingerprints throughout the storm, I’m reminded, God will not always hold back the storm, but He will always walk us through it.
Thank you, Jesus, that I can count on You. In every storm of life, You are there, waiting to give me great gifts, if I will only trust You. You’ve got the whole world in Your strong hands. Thank you for the promise, You will never leave me.
