Standing Outside The Storm

It was a crazy week of running around, so by the evening's activities, I waited outside during camp. The church is high atop a ridge with a spectacular view of the Blue Ridge mountains. I once stood in the sunshine for an hour while thunder storms raged in every direction. Swallows & martins danced in the air all around me, with the occasional screaming, run-through by killdeer. I watched the very hawks that once nested behind my home glinting auburn against slate-blue clouds as they rode thermals in & out of the evening rays of the sun. Absolutely beautiful!

It was amazing to watch as different storm cells would form & erupt in the distance. The winds eventually began to rip all around me, as the flashes & crashes closed in. I have a better understanding of storm-chasing, now. It was amazingly exhilarating! At last the clouds closed in on the ridge where I stood, but as the rains fell the sunshine poured forth. There was even a horizon-to-horizon rainbow !!! It was actually a double, but I am partial to this image.

I Missed the Show !

The canvas panels which we were to paint, were staked down under stately oaks, beneath a Carolina-Blue sky. I have never worked outside, nor looked down for this technique, so I was excited for the new adventure. With a panoramic view of the mountains, set behind an old orchard, we worked on the church grounds, near the converted farmhouse.


Gorgeous, cumulus clouds billowed & wafted past, though the breezes soon changed to sporadic winds. The sound of distant but swiftly moving, thunder called us to quicken our pace. When the strokes of sky, mountains, lake, & rolling hills were completed on the upper panel, I packed up the paint cart with it's myriad of shades & tones. Rolling up the first 20' x 4' panel was incredibly cool, & I felt rather like da Vinci as I carried it off!


Our painting was safely inside when the church doors closed behind us & the first, 1/4-sized raindrops began to fall. I ran to my vehicle shouting, "Auntie Em! Auntie Em! Oh, where's Toto?" (I always do that as storms begin to break). We raced home to find it had already traveled passed our little, forested home.


A week later, I returned to watch the Children's Ministry put on their show. I hung outside to watch God's sculpting of yet another storm & joined in the worship to find the skit was over! I never did see the mural put to use! (I did get some great cloud shots, which I hope to post in the next day or so). In the service of His Kingdom we rarely do get to see the results of our work. That's alright, though ~ He does. That is why He gifted us & that is why I serve! Selah!