Wonderfully and Fearfully Made

It is only May 11th and the Piedmont of North Carolina has definitely seen its share of storms already.  I cannot remember a time where we have had more severe storms as we have had in the past two months.  Normally these storms come in the middle of summer, but these have been different in the time of season and the time of day.  The majority of our severe weather has mostly hit at night.  Once again, this is unusual for us because normally the reason we have bad storms is because of the heat during the day and the sunlight usually fuels the storm to be come the monster that it is.  But these have been different, they are fueled by something else.  I am a weather geek.  You can ask my husband!  I look at The Weather Channel app and the Weather Bug app about 5 times a day.  I can tell you what the 10 day forecast looks like at any given moment, I can smell the rain coming!  This is probably due to the fact that my dad has always been keen on weather situations and always fell asleep at night to the melodic muzak of The Weather Channel!  Don't laugh!  :-)

It was about 11:56 when our weather radio went off last night.  I knew this because it scared me half to death and I thought it was time to get up and get ready for work!  I rolled over and looked at the clock only to find that I was very wrong!  Nathan turned off the radio, it was just a severe thunderstorm warning, no need to worry!  So I rolled back over and drifted off to sleep only to be awakened AGAIN by the weather radio.  I'm not sure how long it was but this time it had begun to storm outside and this is when it all happened. 

Our bedroom window is large with a half circle window at the top.  I can see the sky while lying in bed through this window without the obstruction of blinds or curtains.  The last alert on the radio had jolted me from sleep and as hard as I tried I could not get back there.  So there I lay.  I think Nate was in and out, but I was wide awake.  This alertness was oddly not out of fear I later came to realize, but out of wonder and amazement.  As I said before in the beginning, I don't remember ever having storms this often, this early, this severe, and last night I don't remember EVER seeing so much lighting!  I'm not sure exactly how long the storm lasted, but it felt like eternity.  The entire time it literally looked like someone was holding a strobe light out my window and for at least an hour I know, it flashed!  A couple of the rumbles of thunder really shook me, but for the most part I had an incredible sense of peace even though I could see the trees outside bending and waving wildly and uncontrollably in the wind and the rain was pounding the house. It was a little over half way through the storm, and probably because any normal storm would have already moved on and fizzled out, a thought hit me that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt was that still small voice that is Gods!  As I lay there, with the storm RAGING around me a small voice spoke to my spirit and said "You are WONDERFULLY AND FEARFULLY MADE!"  I was taken aback by this word leaping in my spirit.  After all it was 1 AM, I was laying in bed watching it storm not thinking about anything really except how crazy the lightning was, I wasnt listning to praise and worship music, wasnt reading my bible, wasnt in church or listening to a preacher, but all of a sudden a great fear and reverence came over me and as I watched this storm rage outside I couldnt stop myself from worshiping the one who created me.  It was then I realized that with this same FIERCE intensity that the storm was raging, is the same intensity God had when he created me!  He created me, and you, with this intensity and most of all He LOVES us with this same intensity!  HOW WONDERFUL IS HE!?  When you think about this, you cannot help but feel His grace and mercy!  All day today I keep remembering how powerful this small word is that He dropped in my spirit last night.  As soon as I received this into my spirit and worshiped and thanked him for his goodness, I immediatly fell back asleep.  It was as if I was being kept awake on purpose, just so he could say that to me.  I am so guilty of not giving time for him to speak, so apparently He MADE time.  THATS how special I am to him!  Im so dumb and thickheaded that I cant hear his voice so he lays me down, keeps me awake, gets my attention and then speaks to me! I can tell you that You too are wonderfully and fearfully made, he loves you with an intensity that you cannot even imagine!  He is so powerful and mighty, yet he cares for us and is so gentle with us.  Remember today HOW HE LOVES US!!!!