Sleeping When The
Winds Blow
1996, Tom and
Jeanette Berry
The story is told
of a farmer named Lester Robins who have more than he could handle
by himself. He had tried running his farm alone, but it was
too much. He needed a farm hand badly. One day a young
man applied for work. Lester questioned him about his
experience and satisfied himself that the young man could do the
job and hired him on the spot. As the young man headed out
for the first of his chores he commented over his shoulder, "I can
sleep when the winds blow."
Lester puzzled over
that strange remark for a moment and then passed it off as not
really being anything important. During the months that
followed the young man did everything to Lester's satisfaction.
Then one night at
about 2:00 a.m. one of those mid-western windstorms came roaring
across the plains. Lester awoke with a start and jumped out
of bed to tie down everything that was loose. The checked
the barn. The doors were secures; the shutters were closed
and the animals were tied in their stalls. He quickly
checked the well house, the potato house, the vehicles, the
equipment...everything, and all was secure.
As Lester began
walking back to his house mulling over what he had just
experienced on that stormy night he decided to stick his head in
the bunkhouse. He saw his young farm hand sound asleep.
Suddenly, that comment by the young man was understood by Lester.
"Yes," Lester smiled, "he can sleep when the winds blow because
he's already done all that has to be done."
Jesus told about a
day when the storms of judgment will blow and try the foundation
of our soul's preparation for eternity. Those who have built
on sand will be destroyed, but those who have built on solid rock
will stand (Matthew 7:24-27). The one solid foundation is
Jesus Christ (1st Corinthians 3:11). We build upon that
foundation by receiving Jesus Christ by faith as our personal
Savior.
As we go through
life we experience many storms:
Storms that threaten our marriage relationship.
Storms that threaten our children.
Storms that threaten us financially and materially
Storms that threaten us with temptation
Storms that threaten our church.
The Word of God tells us what we need to do to be prepared for any
storm. The question is, "Have we learned what we need to do
and have we done all we need to do?" It is only then that we
can sleep when the winds blow.
Jeanette Berry,
1996
The winter of
1995-1996 has been one of the most difficult I can remember.
The weather turned cold early, brought us the Blizzard of '96, and
then hung on for what has seemed eternity.
Not only was the
weather bitter, but it seemed as if our lives matched the trying
season. Our daughter-in-law, Sandy, was pregnant with twins.
She does not have easy pregnancies at best. Carry twins
compounded the problem. (Excuse the pun). In and out of the
hospital; trying to arrange care for their 4 and 5 year olds was
almost overwhelming at times. Our son, Richard, was like a
zombie.
At the same time,
Tom and I were going through some terrific struggles of our own.
You know the cliche` "when it rains, it pours"? Well, it was
pouring on us.
As I think back,
not once did we ask "Why us?". Our response was "Why not
us?" I remember saying to Tom, "If we can't beat this
burden, then who can? How can we say words of encouragement
to others if we have not experienced these difficulties
ourselves?"
As Christians we
had prepared for the winter. Winters come, and we were
expecting it. But, like always, we hoped for an easy one;
a little snow; a few sub-zero days; no cold north winds!.
That was not to be. Our winter had all the bad stuff, all at
once, and it lingered on and on. But as I said, we were
armed.
Stored were the
promises of God. Daily we fed on His Word; talked of His
examples; how He help His children through hard times. We
rejoiced and looked forward to the Spring because we knew it would
come! Not as soon as we had hoped, but it came.
Looking back I
realize we are now better, stronger, and wiser. God is more
real. We have less fear of what can happen to us. We
know, by our own experience, that God does walk with us, protect
us, intercede for us, and do miracles today. Not only for
us, but all of His children.
Like the story at
the beginning, if you are prepared, you can sleep while the winds
blow.
Copyright © 2008 Truth Helpers Inc.
|