When I am not working on my "day job" I volunteeer at my church. Occassionally I am asked to fill in for the pastor when he cannot be there. My pastor serves 2 churches so when I fill in for him I do the entire job an early service at one church followed by the late service at the other. Sunday May 6th was one of those days.
There were 2 things that made this past Sunday different from others. First, my whole family came with me to both services. Normally when I do this my oldest will go with me and my wife and youngest will just go to the late service. But yesterday, we spent the entire day together. It was wonderful getting the extra feedback on my sermon as we drove from one church to the other and allowed me to give an improved message during the late service. What was less wonderful was the second thing that made yesterday different.
As we were taking up the collection my phone started viberating in my pocket. A quick glance around the room informed me that mine was not the only phone ringing. It gives you a special feeling of dread when you notice many phones suddenly ringing in unison. The service was nearly over and since I did not see anyone running out of the building I decided to wait to check mine until after the service.
Those of you who do not live in areas where severe weather occurs frequently may not be familiar with the alert options that many news providers give regarding weather and cell phones. This call during storms has saved many lives, and they are to be taken seriously.
As the service ended I checked my phone and discovered a severe thunderstorm had passed during the service and was still in the area. The problem was that the storm was firmly between where I was (with my family) and where I had to be for the late service. Many people were counting on me to be there so we had no choice but to brave the weather. As we started out, the mood was light, I had not told my kids about the storm. As we drove the sky developed a dark bruised look and lightning filled the air. At about the midpoint of the 20 minute drive a bolt struck a power transformer about 50 yards in front of our car. The explosion shattered any sense of bravery that my daughters had had before.
The final 10 minutes of the drive took about 12 hours (the clock said it was 10 minutes, but I am certain 12 hours is right) My daughters screaming in fear the entire way. The storm ended just as we arrived at the second church.
The upside is that no one was injured in the entire storm AND I was able to use bits of the drive in my second sermon to improve it.
However, I do not think it will be easy to talk the family into going with me the next time I am asked to do both churches.
Hey Fish - realwest again, that was an incredible experience! While we suffer from Thunder and Lightning storms down here in North Carolina, and sometimes tornadoes and hurricanes, they are, mercifully infrequent enough that we don't have any "alert" type of thing with cell phones, although the TV does have an "alert system".
ReplyDeleteI have to say that I commend you and your family for driving through to the second service. You said you hadn't told the kids about the storm before setting off for the second service, but I'm curious if you told your wife?
I admire your devotion and courage and hope that the congregations AND your Pastor know of what you went through. It was a demonstration of the strength of your faith that you did go on to perform the second service and the congregations should understand that!
Good on you Fish!!