A Stormy Night Upon The Porch
May 20th, 2019
My dirty bare feet are curled beneath me on a mildly damp patio bench. The porch shelters me from the night storm, but exposes me just enough that my arms are sprinkled with water. In a nearby pond, a duet of rippling chirps is sung back and forth between two frogs. They are hidden by the blackened sky until it is split by purple lighting.
A minute later a crackling rumble vibrates the sodden earth beneath the pitter-patter of rain. A metallic tinkling of droplets against gutter adds to the orchestra of growling drums and peeping percussion. The air is thick with moisture, but still warm from a day of baking under the blazing summer sun. All is quiet for a time, and it seems as if the storm is passing; but then a silhouetted tree-line of evergreens appears as again the sky’s strobe light flashes.
“You can still be struck by lightning from here,” my weather-savvy little brother cautions. I shoo him away and gaze eagerly through the white wooden railing that separates me from the elements. The glory of God surrounds me in this moment. “I’ll risk it,” I say.
