Faith and the Storm

We had some pretty wild weather in the forecast on Sunday: An unseasonably warm 68º, high winds, heavy rains and tornadoes. There are few things that Sterling hates more than bad weather.

We attended church as usual. It was a special day with Sterling being ordained a Deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood. A few times during our meeting block, I could hear the rain coming in angry spurts, pounding down hard on the roof. After church, choir practice was canceled and we were encouraged to head home. Most members live 15-20 minutes away from the meetinghouse and there were several tornado sightings being reported in surrounding areas. The worst was apparently on its way.

Three kids went back to our house with Grandma and Grandpa Stowell who were visiting for Sterling's ordination. The other three came with me because Sam needed to stop on the way home to get a signature for a completed merit badge. We were in the car waiting for Sam and the wind was picking up. I wasn't worried, but I could see that Sterling was starting to fret. Sam was quick with his errand and we were on our way home. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sterling fold his arms and bow his head, obviously praying.

Within seconds the wind died down. It stopped raining and we started to see patches of blue peeking through the ominous clouds. A glance to the left revealed a rainbow. Through the remainder of our quiet drive, we were amazed by the awesome cloud formations. Sam snapped dozens of pictures with my iPod attempting to preserve the beautiful display. Here's just a sample (click on the photos to view larger):

Look close and you can see a faint rainbow to the left

By the time we arrived home, there were larger patches of blue sky. The winds picked up here and there over the next hour or so and we had a little more rain, but eventually the clouds cleared out completely and it was a gorgeous sunny afternoon.

If you followed the news, you know that there were several locations in Illinois that were hit by powerful, unmerciful tornadoes that day from this same storm system. The devastation in some areas is sobering. I don't know why the storm didn't hit us. We consider ourselves very blessed and we are thankful we didn't lose power or possessions or worse. I am especially grateful for a sweet boy who had the faith to pray and ask Heavenly Father to calm the storm.