Wonder and Awe: God's Power Seen In Storms

Storms are magnificent. Storms are fantastic. Storms are some of the most awe inspiring events that I have witnessed. Since the earliest writings by humans, stroms have caused curiousness and wonder in countless men, women and children.
Storms hold a special place in my heart. When I was four, I was living in my old house with its immense windows to our backyard. Every time a storm came, my brother, Jamie, and I would be so scared that we would cry and beg our parents to stop the storm and all its fury. However, this one time, my brother was asleep (we could easily sleep though storms), and I was alone with my father during a storm. The catch was, it was not raining, just a lightning and thunder storm. It fascinated me, and my father was so surprised at my calm and questioning reaction, he allowed us to go outside, under the porch, and witness the graceful event. As we stood their, my father and I, I realized that what ever controlled this beautiful and awesome storm had almost unlimited power. Asking my dad, he answered with one word, "God." That was the first time I ever thought of God as being all powerful and graceful. The mysteriousness of the winds against my face, the random and suddenness of the lightning strikes, and the roaring boom of thunder just froze me in this moment of humility and meditation.

"The most beautiful and deepest experience a (person) can have is the sense of the mysterious. It is the underlying principle of the religion as well as of all serious endeavor in art and in science." - Albert Einstein, "My Credo"

God became real that day to me. His awesome and wonderful power, through the grace and beauty of that storm caught my attention and let my mind first attempt to comprehend Him. Still today, whenever there is a fierce storm or heavy rain, I see God's majesty, and am bowled over by it. Weather reports are sketchy at best, and the weather reporters on each news station make me laugh. How can one predict the gracefullness and power of one of God's gifts to His creation. It seems foolish to me that people should be trying to predict One that cannot be even fully comprehended.

Other sources for Storm Photos: