lightning crashes. the angel opens my eyes. Tuesday night around 9:30 I was sitting on my bed listening to The Beatles. I was starting to get tired so I decided that before I crashed I wanted to read some Bible. I randomly turned to Psalms as I have been lately and enveloped myself into the beauty that was the writings of David ("But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.")After a few minutes with with the Word I turned off my bedside lamp and rolled over to look out the window, 'Golden Slumbers' in the background. Sometime shortly after I dozed off. Around 1am I awoke and thought it was already dawn breaking. The moon outside was very bright and there wasn't a cloud in sight to deter it from shining. It hung in the Southwestern sky outside the window and I (drearily) stared at reflection on the ocean. Suddenly I saw a flash, and then another. To the Southeast, beyond the moonlights reach, there was a lightning storm somewhere just about at the horizon line. So I had to the SW light as bright as the new morning, and then to the SE a darkness constantly being disturbed by the raidly occuring flashes of lightning. It was amazing.

I don't remember falling back to sleep, but when I awoke next it was sometime around 3:20. I looked out the window and couldn't even see the back porch it was so dark out. The moon had dissapeared; the lightning had ceased. I was left with was darkness.

The next morning in the shower, before I was even awake, my mind was thinking. It said to me: "It's easy to praise your God when things go your way. It's easy to praise Him when you are happy with life. It's natural to give thanks when things go your way. Never forget that it is just as important to praise and respect Him when you are unhappy. Never forget that you must honor the spirit when things do not go the way you want them to. What's the point in taking time towards thanks just when you feel like things are good? Why not when things are bad? Don't just use those times to ask why or beg for mercy! Use them also to praise life. He never fails you, no matter how it seems. No matter how bad it gets, He never goes away. Don't forget that. Don't ever forget that." I believe the Earth woke me up to witness these stark differences in the night. It was keeping me in check. And also She was issuing a warning. A beautiful, spine-tingling warning.  ¶ 8/20/2005 02:42:00 PM