I will praise You in this storm!

Psalm 63:3 “Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You.”

It’s been raining in Chicagoland for a couple of days now, mostly heavy and nonstop. Yesterday was the greatest amount of rainfall for a single day since they started keeping records back in 1871. Cars have been submerged in some places, basements have flooded, people have had to be rescued. I realize this is nothing compared to Ike and the devastation there; this is for the most part an inconvenience, but I have never seen it rain like this. I can’t imagine what it would be like to live in a rainy part of the world with rainy seasons.

My husband and I have spent the last 2 days cleaning out the cellar of our home built in 1887. We were told in March when we moved in that it had never flooded. Not so this time, but the water was pretty minimal and able to be removed with a small pump. It did, however, cause all of our boxes to get wet, so we have now gone through all the remaining boxes from our move and either thrown it out, given it away, or stored it in plastic containers. This is a project I’d been intending to get to for 6 months, so maybe this was a blessing in disguise.

We’ve also found a small leak on the porch, and for some reason, our door to the house stopped closing. I guess when it rains, it pours! In the midst of the storm, though, I’ve found a lost journal that I had been intently praying I would find (of letters I wrote my daughter when she was in the NICU for 3 months after birth). I’ve been able to finally clean that cellar. And it happened on a weekend, so my husband and I could be home and handle this. We also found lots of toys and books the kids had been missing, and they’ve had fun playing the last couple of days while we worked. There are many things to thank and praise the Lord for in the midst of this storm.

I know it’s such a small thing, really, and such a small illustration, but when life seems a bit drab and dreary, the sun isn’t shining, there’s uncertainty around me about what’s going to happen, do I really find my refuge and confidence in the Lord? As I read Psalm 63:3 this morning (“Because Your lovingkindness if better than life, my lips shall praise You.”), I wondered, do I really believe this? Do I really think God’s lovingkindness is better than my very life? In the midst of a “storm,” can I fix my eyes on Him and have great joy because He is better than all else, even when I feel insecure and uncertain?

It’s these little imperfections of life that increase the longing for the perfect, for the eternal place where all will be right. I pray God will increase my faith so that when my feelings are inconsistent with my head and heart and I feel unsteady, I will still believe Him.

This week, we have visitors staying with us from South Korea, I start a small group women’s Bible study in our home, and I have a busy week at work. There is too much for me to lose sight of the big picture by life’s disruptions from this storm. So I choose today to praise You again, Lord. I praise You that You are here with me and that You do not forsake those who trust in You. I do praise You in this storm and praise You for Your lovingkindness toward me. I know that You are enough and all I need, so I may say with the psalmist, “Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You.”