Me, Jesus, Jessi, and Waylon
- Leanne Bonning
- May 7, 2021
- 2 min read
I stood in the backyard, bare footed and sleeveless. It was a warm day by any December standard. It was frightening, an eerily tropical feel. I watched as the clouds played Jenga. They twisted and grew dark and dipped low. As I looked up and out onto the horizon, I could only agree with my insides; there was meanness in the sky today.
This was no time for a storm. The neighborhood had hung their Christmas decorations on their houses and their lawns were adorned with sweetest Christmas cheer, only to fear the winds and hail that might come to destroy the season’s charm. But storms never ask my permission to attack nor do they ever consider my calendar. So, I buckled down and embraced the impending doom like everyone else.
That was my journal entry from back in December. Here I stand again in that same backyard. It’s May. I have shoes on this time. Another frightening sky looms and a storm is coming, threatening my neighborhood and my peace. I hate storms.
Literally, I am standing at the threshold of a storm and if the weather lady is right, it’s going to be a nasty one. Metaphorically, I am in the middle of a storm, too. There’s family drama. One has mental illness and the tragedy of that impacts every family member. My mom is in the hospital having scary surgery. My dad has health issues. There’s business stress. And I am concerned about friends. The HOA continues to write annoying letters and lob them over the proverbial email wall. Y’all, its stormy all around me.
Just before the skies opened and unleashed its hell, I closed and locked the door and fell into my chair where I picked up my bible and began to take my attention away from the thunder and the lightening. I have a favorite passage of scripture I always go to when I am fearful. Psalm 23.
Each time the thunder clapped outside, I held tighter to my thoughts of safety by saying the verse aloud and taking pleasure in changing up the words to make them fit my current situation – “Even though I sit here in this storm, Lord, You are with me. And I will not fear. I will not fear the health battles. I will not fear the unknown business journey. I will not fear any of the storms because You are with me. You comfort me.”
The storm outside my door passed. A smile crept into my soul as I remembered the lyrics of this song I’ve heard many times. Sung by Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter. Also co-written by Jessi. Cue the music…
Storms never last do they baby.
Bad times all pass with the wind.
Your hand in mine stills the thunder.
You make the sun want to shine.
Well, we’ve done it again. Me, Jesus, Jessi and Waylon. We have weathered yet another storm. And the music plays on…
And the clouds brewing now won’t be the last
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