SHELTERED FROM THE STORM

Winter rattled the frosty windowpanes and tried its best to blow our tiny house down that day. With each gust, endless sheets of white unfurled in the sky and fell over our century-old village, trapping its inhabitants inside.

I watched from a cozy spot at the breakfast table, stirred my steaming oatmeal, and waited for Daddy to return from the store. The radio was tuned in to the weather station to keep us informed of road and school closures- a list that grew with every inch of snow.

“Avondale, Brandon, Clarkston…” Mommy lifted one finger up to her lips to hush my excitement when I heard my school’s name and pointed to the radio. There was more we needed to hear.

“Looks like this is shaping up to be the storm of the century, folks,” the booming voice predicted. My finger poked the contents of my bowl. Just like that, it had turned ice cold.

I paced by the window, willing the familiar yellow headlights to appear in the driveway. It felt like forever before Daddy returned as promised, red-cheeks and snowy lashes, carrying milk and a few extra groceries we might need. 

Mommy took the bags with a whisper in his ear that sent him back to the door to watch his recent footsteps disappear. Our eyes rested on his shoulders as he stared out the window.

Suddenly, with a clap of his hands that said he meant business, he turned back to address his frightened little family.

"It looks like the perfect day for hot cocoa and a blanket fort!” he announced. And despite the doom that swirled around us, his presence guaranteed that we were in for a grand adventure.

So I spent the better part of that blustery day snuggled up under a canopy of love my father had spread out and secured for me. While I went about my snow day, he dealt with the elements outside, clearing a path for his loved ones to walk on after the blizzard had passed.

Because as Daddy knew, and I soon learned, no storm lasts forever.

“Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; He lifts His voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”

Psalm 46:6-7 NIV