Wind and Rain

This morning the pelting rain roused me from my slumber. Last night it was the howling wind that kept my thoughts flickering as I eased into dreamland. Nature felt restless, even a bit dangerous during the past 12 hours. Sometimes it seems to be yearning for redemption, as the Apostle Paul wrote in one of his epistles.

I can imagine the restlessness that the fully human and fully divine Jesus felt as he continued on his journey toward the cross. Were there times when the anticipated agony of what he was to endure kept him up late into the night? Were there moments when he awoke to the ubiquitous reminder that world was indeed desperate for redemption, and he was the answer--an answer that would cost him everything he had?

For those frequent nights when I cannot switch off my mind, when the gusts of thought continue to howl inside of me, I wonder if Christ can relate. For those mornings when I immediately sense the burdens of life pounding upon me like a violent rain, I wonder if he is there to calm the storm and I'm too self-absorbed to notice.

Lord, help me to recognize your face in the midst of the storms. I can find comfort that you have the scars to prove that redemption is not only at hand, but has been firmly secured.