The Power of Thunder

I enjoy watching lightning flashes and listening to thunderstorms. I marvel at the differences in storms between the flat plains of Texas, the mountains of Colorado, or the countryside of Germany.

On occasion, I gazed over the horizon as a wall cloud formed, unable to look away. This seemed particularly foolish from my third-floor apartment, as a single person, during an overactive tornado season. I thought this, even as I stood transfixed at the wonder and majesty of the storm forming a few miles away. A few years later, in another storm, I found myself much less calm. In the last trimester of my first pregnancy, I stayed with my parents due to my husband’s deployment. One of the first thunderstorms of the season woke me and no matter how much I prayed, I could not find a sense of peace or get comfortable. I attribute all of this to my pregnancy. Dietrich is often afraid of thunderstorms, just as he did not like that first one.

Thunder in the mountains adds a new level of awe, as the booms echo off the mountainside. The rumbles continue as though you are sitting in tympani drums. I miss living in Colorado when I remember the awesome percussion symphony of thunderstorms there.

At our house in Germany, it seemed that thunder and lightning surrounded us during storms. Our village rolled along with a series of hills. We felt perfectly safe, nestled between a larger hill and the valley. In fact, we thought tornadoes an improbability in Germany until the summer before we moved when one touched down near the airbase. One evening, I took a video as the clouds rolled in with a constant lightning show. Then I dissected that video and created a still image of the perfect lightning strike pictured above.

Thunderstorms display God’s power, creating both awe and fear. Jesus calmed the storm and he walked on the water (in the waves/wind). He overcame mental storms by casting out demons. He overcame physical storms through the many miracles of healing and even raising the dead. His thunderous power can overcome any storm if only we allow him to take control.