Who'll stop the rain?

[FCTP]

It was one of those mornings.  I was awakened by the sound of thunder and flashes of lightning piercing the darkness of the room.  It was 4:30 and I didn’t want to get up.  As I laid there watching the window light up and the booming sounds of thunder, I was taken back to my childhood. 

 

Like most children, I was afraid of the thunderstorms.  When they began, I would run to be near my dad.  I knew he would protect me and keep me safe through the storms.  He told me that the sound of thunder was God moving furniture around in heaven.  The flashes of lightning were caused by Him turning the lights off and on as he moved from room to room in the mansions of heaven.  It made me feel better to think of thunderstorms that way.  When my children were young, that story became a part of their lives too.  It helped them feel comfortable when the thunderstorms would light up their rooms. 

 

As the storm increased in noise, I thought of the many storms Americans are facing in today’s world.  Some are searching for jobs after losing theirs of 20 years or more.  Some are searching for jobs as they graduate from college.  Jobs are hard to find.  If they have a home and find a job in another city, it is difficult to relocate because their home values may be upside down.   They feel stuck and hopeless.

 

I tossed and turned thinking about the blessings some of us still have.  Some still have jobs but are worried that soon they may be laid off.  The worry in America is weighing on people’s minds and we are wondering if we can hold on until another leader takes Obama’s place.

 

Thunder rattled the house and I heard a large pop.  I got out of bed to make sure all was well in the back yard.  When I got to the sliding glass doors, a bolt of lightning lit up the yard as if God was taking a photo and the flash went off. 

 

It’s going to be a big storm, I thought.  I couldn’t sleep anymore as I waited for the rain to come.  We need the rain to hold back the fires that have filled our air with smoke.  I sat in the still darkness of the living room watching the storm make a lot of noise and light up the yard.  Then suddenly, it all stopped.  No rain.  Nothing else happened.  Everything became still and the morning light was beginning to poke through the trees.

 

I wondered what the storm was all about.  Was it a wake up call?  Was it raining somewhere else and all we got was the light show? 

 

Isn’t that what life is all about?  Some people may be in the middle of the storm with the crashing rain coming down on them.  Some of us may only get a few snippets of the storm.  Some of us hear about it and some of us see it but never experience the real storm that others are.

 

In a posting yesterday, a struggling single mom is feeling the rain coming down.  She is selling a handwritten note she received from Obama.  She had written him expressing her concerns that she would become homeless in this economy.  He wrote back and told her he was rooting for her and things would get better.  http://beta.news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/struggling-single-mom-sell... Life has not gotten better and this young mother of three is now selling the note so she can make ends meet.  His rooting for her has not changed her circumstances.  The storms of life are still her daily routine.

 

We also saw Obama at a Jobs Council (?) and when a statement was made about how difficult it was to get permitting for jobs, Obama responded laughingly with the statement “shovel-ready was not as shovel-ready as we expected.”  Laughing while Americans are looking for jobs from a hope-filled stimulus plan paid for by their hard-earned tax dollars – is no laughing matter.  It’s serious out here in America and our leader is laughing about our problems as the thundering rain continues to fall on those who are looking for work.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RNDNlhYl58

 

My heart hurts for these people and some of them are my friends.  They are hard-working citizens who have never needed a hand out in their lives.  They have always managed to take care of themselves.  The thunderstorms they are in, with the rain pouring down, is not getting any better and it is not going away.  They wake up daily to the thunder, lightning and the flood of despair while our leader plays golf, eats lobster and caviar and sends notes that he’s rooting for us.

 

I heard a light rain begin as I poured my first cup of coffee.  I was glad to hear the rain coming down for the grass and the flowers blooming in the butterfly garden.  I asked God to stop the rain in the lives of my friends and to send them a ray of sunshine and a big beautiful rainbow painted by the angels in heaven.  They need a sign that all will be better soon. 

 

We are seventeen months away from escorting Mr. Obama from the White House.  We hope the new President will not laugh at our problems and has a plan to fix this economy.  People are hurting and they need a President who understands their problems and feels their pain through the rain.

 

Please pray for my friends who are out of work, out of money and out of hope.  If we all jointly send a prayer to God for these precious people, He can work a miracle for them.  I know He can because he can start and stop the rain with a snap of His fingers.

[Arthur Crounse]

Times are hard for many. My wife worked for Wendys for many years. The last store was at the Town Center here in Jacksonville. A new company takes over and startes hiring new people.  They are hired for less money. They cut her hours to 3 a day and only 3 days a week. We live in Oceanway. It cost more in gas then what she woud make,  Don't you just Corp. America!!!

[Rod Morrill]

Billie,

Thank you for all that you do to keep us aware and "on coarse" in the face of all that is happening in our City, State, Nation and World.

 

Kurt,

I will certainly add your name and your concerns to my prayers.

I share a lot of the values that you have shared on this blog and I share some of the other events in your life and I can assure you as I am sure you already know that God is the ultimate strength and remedy in all we encounter.

You mention you are a Viet Nam Vet so you know there is no "foxhole atheists" and God's comfort.

I was there for the '68 Tet Offensive and without a scratch. ('68-'69).

My work position was "eliminated" 7/10/10 and I have had more time with and for God, my wife, my family, my friends and my "interaction with government" than I have had for years and any and all of that offers more than any "job" I have ever had.

God will hold you by the hand and hold you up, but you must reach out and grasp it firmly.

[Kay Ragan Durden]

Keep writing Billie, for you sure know how to put it down on paper.

[Debbie G]

This president has accomplished a very sinister goal in many hearts, making people feel guilty for the blessings they have.  This is the antithesis to what this country was founded upon.  More and more people are losing the freedom to make choices in their lives as the result of economic shackles.  Now more than ever it is important to prepare and/or anticipate devastating circumstances so that if/when they occur you will still have the flexibility of choice.  This administration is handing out "crack" in the form of government subsidies, let's not become addicts but rather counselors for those who have.

 

Kurt,

Thank you for your service and my prayers are with you.

[Mary Jane Travis]

Billie- you have such  gift for writing about your life experiences  and turning them into an inspirational message that each one of us can relate to-- thank you for inspiring us each day to do better, to help others and believe in God and our country- WE must say good bye to Obama in 2012 or we will be saying goodbye to America as we know it.

[FCTP]

Kurt:  I am so sorry to hear that.  My heart hurts for you.  WE will add you to our prayers.

[Kurt R Langenfeld]

well i'm part of tht rain lost my job as of [6-14-11].So I'm asking for prayer for me and my wife. that GOD will open up a door for me to go back to work. you run a great board bille and i'm proud to be part of it,and the patriot movement.hope that one day all eyes and ears will be opened so we can change things and bring back our country and to have GOD & JESUS REIN IN THIE COUNTRY AGAIN.

Nam Vet [73-74]

[Gail Louise Yost]

I know our hours were cut at work because of the rain a multi billion dollar industry is struggling in this change I think our "leader" laughing at that is totally tantamount to the lavish life the dictator lives without concern for the working man who is the backbone of this country...

[John Harvel]

I could use a little more rain and a little less Reign...