If you've never experienced storm gusts at the top of a mountain, I'll tell you that it's not for the faint of heart. I know, because I'm one of those fainthearted people!
Every single window rattled in its casing. The sliding glass doors in our room visibly bowed in and out, continuously. The deck and the roof creaked and strained. I could feel it.
And mountaintop winds don't whistle. They thunder and they scream.
If I'd been wearing my fitness watch, I'm sure my heart rate would have measured as if I were running hills. I was certain we were going to topple down the side of the mountain. Of course, I've thought that on countless occasions before, but I was absolutely sure of it this morning.
Lying in the dark, the panic of the physical chaos around me actually triggered the stress of the past week within me. Between long-distance family medical emergencies, multiple significant projects at work, a sick child at home, and my inability to give anything my all, I struggled every day to discern which end was up.
Lord, make it stop. I'm not sure if I was praying about the wind or the stress. Probably both.
Staring at the ceiling - while strategizing a mountain rescue plan for my children and dogs - I was suddenly startled by a different sound.
In the midst of the thundering wind, groaning house, and my racing heart, the bright melody of a songbird traveled clear and steady through the air.
How in the world...?!? I wondered incredulously. Didn't she realize the tumult around her? Didn't she know the violent winds could knock her from her perch to the rocks below?
Clearly, she knew. Clearly, she felt the gusts all around her - she is an aviator, after all.
Yet she sang. Because it's what she was created to do. And the sound of her song was all the more beautiful to my ears because of the chaos that surrounded it.
Lord, let me be like that bird.
Give me a worshipful heart, whether I'm in the middle of still waters or a whirlwind. Yes, give me wisdom in my circumstances, rather than denial or recklessness. But don't let me hesitate to be who You've made me to be, to do what You've called me to do, or to say what You've called me to say. Because that is when I will experience the infinitely deep joy for which I was made.
And others will be cheered by my song.
