I might have to recant a lot of what I wrote yesterday. . . because our rain truly did turn into major floods that are causing a lot of damage. . . ridiculous to go from a drought straight into a flood.
Today was much the same. Rain. Rain. Downpour. Deluge.Rain.Downpour. Deluge.Heavy Rain. Really heavy rain. etc. Of course the weather intensified and showed no signs of letting up near the end of the day. So we left work early, to try not hit the awful weather in the dark and tried to make our way home.
I HAVE NEVER driven in such bad conditions...EVER. I drive on a horrible freeway to and from work, one that is renowned to be dangerous. and usually has at least one accident a day. it is twisty and turny, and the main reason it is dangerous is usually people's blatant disregard for the law. [but more on that another day].
It normally takes me 20 minutes on a bad day to get home. The weather was so bad it took me an hour and 10 minutes today. There have been days I have driven on this road and the mist has been so thick that you cant see 10 meters in front of your car, and the sides of the road and road signs are not visible. . . that was nothing compared to how bad today was. Mist and bucketing rain, no visibility at all. I could not see the end of my car. Parts of the road were so flooded that it covered my tires. I put my lights on, my fog lights on, my hazards on and inched home, fingers clenching the wheel. it was intense. I was scared. but I did it. I didn't really have much option truthfully.
It reminded me of the scripture I read this morning. Matthew 28:1-10.
The Women go to the tomb, where Jesus WAS buried. They get there, and there is an earthquake and the stone rolled aside and a glowing angel sitting on it, having just come down from heaven. Not to mention the army guards that have fainted in fear/shock....so its no surprise that the angel's first words to the women were, "Do Not Be Afraid."
He then proceeds to tell them to go and inform the other disciples that Jesus has risen, and that Jesus has gone ahead to Galilee. The women run off in obedience but i love that it says this about them....
You see the women were scared. I think they had every right to be scared. If I had just been through ALL that they had been through, I would be a little bit more than simply afraid. . . but yet they still obeyed. incredible. I would probably still be rooted to the spot, mouth gaping, frozen in terror. Not running to obey despite my fear. . . but what i love most about this account is the next part.
Jesus, who was meant to be in Galilee, having gone ahead, detours from the plan and encounters these joyfully scared women. His first words to them, "Don't be afraid!" I almost get the impression, with a touch of poetic licence here, that Jesus made the detour because he was worried about them and wanted to comfort and calm them. He adored these women, and was obviously delighted that despite their fear, they had obeyed. But He wasn't only interested in their obedience and the end results. He stepped into the middle of their encounter to settle their fear.
incredible. So often our fear can overwhelm us. Sometimes we even condemn ourselves for our fear. . . But Jesus didn't. He didn't think, "They are scared but they are still obeying so I will wait till Galilee to see them." and when He did see them, he didn't rebuke them for lack of faith or being weak. No He simply encouraged them not to be scared, reassured them and settled their hearts. Beautiful isn't it?
I encourage you make room in the midst of your fears to let The Savior step in and bring comfort to your heart.
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