Storm Chasing

I am inspired right now by my little sisters words. She reminded me of storms. I am amazed at how much I miss sometimes... about what I've missed out on in the past two years since I've been gone.
She's grown up so much.

I remember storms... they are like milestones. I remember the first time I had to go into a hallway and cover my head with my arms. The first time we had to go to the basement. The first time, when lightening struck, and Dad opened the front door.

We would stand on the front porch and watch the rain beat onto the ground... the yellow light from the streetlights catching the rain and making it glisten like snow. We would stand on the porch until we started getting wet, until a plastic lawn chair was blown into the yard, or until the storm siren had been wailing for a few minutes too long.

There was a tornado that ripped through Winchester the season before I moved there (twelve years ago). It took the steeple off of the church my Dad would be working at. And there hasn't been a tornado touch down since then.

But I've always looked.

Waited for the green sky... the still blades of grass... listened for the sound like a train. I've always wanted to chase a storm.I was standing in my apartment last night when the storm siren went off... so loud that my heart skipped a beat. Tornado watch.

Secretly, I felt a rush of excitement. An unspoken deseire to rush to the window and watch. Later, I would be lying in bed and the electricity would silently flicker out. Lightening would strike a parked car and set the alarm off. Thunder would boom and send my kitten running for cover under my bed. I would lay there, counting how many miles away the storm was. Holding my breath when I felt the first vibrations of thunder. Plugging my ears when the sirens went off again at 2 am...

Tornado warning.

I don't particularly like the rain. The bottom of my pants get wet. My car slides and spins. The parking lots flood. But after Olivia's words, I remembered something.I remembered a walk I took with Dad--four years ago now. A walk in the rain at midnight. Talking about life, how fast it was moving, how slow it seemed to be going by. I think back to the girl that took that walk. And I realize that Olivia must feel this way. (Except she's smarter than I was.)

I remember a dinner date... the parking lot flooded, him driving up in his car, following him to dinner.

I remember a surprise birthday party that was accented by thunder and lightening and sirens.

I love looking up at the sky and watching it churn. The moist, warm way the air feels. The calm before the storm. Holding your breath in suspense. Knowing you should feel some fear. Only feeling awe.

I think that I've been chasing storms all my life.

Seeking after the power of God--the strength in the wind.