The winds are really picking up. The wind chimes on my front porch are playing madly and Molly is trying to hide under my desk. I finally got up and closed the door to outside so she couldn’t hear the wind. Why Molly is so afraid of the wind I will never understand. Closing the door did calm her down though and actually helped me as well. So maybe, just maybe, she could be picking up on some of my concerns over high winds. Concerns that are leftover from Hurricane Hugo. Concerns, okay fears, that are nowhere near what they once were. I have a feeling though that Molly is not going to like being left in this room alone tonight. But here is where she will be because Bella will not share the bedroom with her for some reason.
The weather people warned us that we are in for a serious storm during the night. Possibly heavy rain, maybe a thunderstorm, and high wind gusts. I am hoping that it won’t happen or that we catch only the edge of the storm and nothing bad. Here it is, almost ten at night and the phone app is showing that it is still sixty-seven degrees Fahrenheit outside. Which is the main reason that door was still open. When the days are warm, doors and windows will be open. If it wasn’t for the winds and a nervous dog it would still be open.
I purchased another fitness band that I hoped would spend more time on my wrist than on a charger. Today I used it to give me the incentive to get my step goal accomplished. I like getting those ten thousand steps and as of now I have ten thousand, four hundred and thirty nine so I think I made goal. I’m hoping to get into the habit of getting that goal and getting back in better shape for hiking that mountain. When I went the other day I had to keep stopping and trying to catch my breath. I was not happy about that even as it was my own fault. Though if it hadn’t been cloudy for the majority of the day, I would have probably gone anyway. Hiking up that hill is quite the workout.
When I was walking in my little hiking circle I allowed myself a moment of distraction and tripped over a root. For the life of me I could not regain my balance and hit the ground solid with my knee. Thankfully though I didn’t tear my jeans even as my knee is throbbing. The same knee that I bruised with I stumbled a few weeks back. That has to be one of my projects of the Spring, clear away all the roots and small stumps that are tripping hazards. That falling hurts. The good thing about my walking area are the daffodils that are blooming. That splash of yellow brightening my mood, even and especially after that fall.
My point is that it isn’t just humans who fear, whether that fear is irrational of not. Molly is afraid of the wind. I have seen the not so stray cats showing fear over things they don’t understand, such as the falling leaves in Autumn. Children fear monsters in the closet, adults fear a variety of things. At times that fear is justified.
For me though, for my concerns over the approaching storm, I will spend a while in prayer. Prayers that the storms do not cause damage, injuries or worse. Prayers that the rains won’t bring flooding. Prayers that the winds are not as strong as predicted and that no trees or power lines come down. Prayers for peace and comfort in what ever comes. It is largely thanks to those prayers, that the fears I had in the past have eased from sheer terror to a mild discomfort and concern. Because God does want us to come to Him. He wants to answer our prayers and take care of us. Not in fear, but love.
Words from The Dirt Road 