Today marks the first day in several that El Niño hasn’t been pouring its buckets of much-needed rain on us. And although there weren’t any in our immediate area, yesterday I was reminded of the many thunderstorms I had witnessed as a child.

I remember hearing the thunder and feeling terrified of the sound. But that didn’t come close to the fear I experienced when I witnessed my first view of lightning. At the time, we were living in the desert and we had a huge picture window in our living room. The lightning seemed to be performing just for me, and it was doing a great job with its scary flashes that seemed to touch our front walkway. In reality, it was much further away but to my eight-year-old eyes, I was in imminent danger.

It was when my dad told me that the thunder tells us how far away the lightning is that I was finally able to conquer my fear. After the flash, I would listen carefully for that bang and then allow the knowledge of the distance to calm my little heart. The thunder became my friend.

Many times, we are faced with devastating news or frightening experiences that can descend upon us like flashes of lightning. We watch our lives through a picture window, as if sitting in the front room of a house, and begin to imagine all sorts of scenarios on how the storm will end. The fear is so close, threatening to strike and leave permanent damage…or worse, completely destroy us.

But if we wait just a bit, the thunder will come. God’s voice will speak peace over the storm, reminding us how far away it really is, and reminding us that if we listen to Him, we don’t have to run into our bedrooms and cower under the covers, terrified.