Hail Stones and Heaven

A few years ago, back when we were only a family of four, we visited the great state of South Dakota. It was one stop on our road trip that went through Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota and ended in Colorado; unintentionally following Laura Ingalls Wilder's pioneering path for most of it.

The landscape of the upper midwest is gorgeous with rolling hills, sparkling mountains, wide open planes, odd rock formations that make you tilt your head in wonder, mysterious caves and crumbling petrified dirt sculpted by weather and time. You can stand in one of it's wide open spaces and watch a storm rage miles away or be shifted in the place you stand by a strong gale as the weather changes. There's really nothing quite like standing in spaces like these in silence and taking in the hallelujahs that the undulating scenery is proclaiming.

One such place that we stopped at along the way was Wind Cave National Park in Hot Springs, SD. This site is sacred to the Lakota people as they believe this to be a portal to the spirit world. The earth seems to breathe through the openings in the ground as the air shifts in the cave due to the changes in the barometric pressure. A truly wonder-filled place, to be sure.

When we arrived at the cave, it was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, and the sky was blue. We went down deep into the earth and observed the unique sculptures and formations on the cave walls, the different rooms that the spacious cavern boasts and then returned to the surface.

When we emerged from the presumed underground spiritual world, the atmosphere had been revised. What was light and cheery now felt heavy and ominously dark. We quickly piled into our vehicle and drove away hoping to beat the weather back to our campsite.

It was only a short distance before it started to pour. And then, just as suddenly, the temperature dropped drastically. My husband said something like, "I hope it doesn't start hailing", and within seconds our vehicle was hammered by white pellets the diameter of quarters in a furious cacophony.

By this time we were about five minutes into the Black Hills which sparkle with delight in the sunshine but now seemed foreboding in the dark. Joe made a quick turn to try to get us back to where the Wind Cave was so we could find some shelter from the storm but it was dark, the terrain was uncertain, and the hail was absolutely consuming us.

Eventually, we did make it back and parked under a tree near shelter. From this spot we watched as the hail continued to pummel the ground and listened as the stones ricocheted off of the metal of our car and beat the pavement and plant life. Then after about 20 minutes the weather let up and began to return to blue cheery sky as it was before. Just like that, peace was restored.

It was in this moment that the lyrics to one of my favorite hymns came to mind: "O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds Thy hands have made. I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder. Thy power throughout the universe displayed".

These words were written by a member of the Swedish parliament and pastor, Carol Gustaf Boberg (1859-1940), after experiencing something very similar. Boberg was out for a nice walk when a thunderstorm suddenly appeared out of nowhere. A cutting wind began to blow and rocked him until he found safety. After the storm was over he looked over the calm clear bay and heard church bells in the distance and the words of How Great Thou Art began to form in his heart.

Can you imagine what Boberg must have felt as he formed these words? There was such calm and peace after the fierce storm. I'm sure he could only utter these words of peace that. I imagine, it came first as a sigh of praise deep from within his spirit as he witnessed the power and peace of God as nature displayed it, painting a picture of heaven and the presence of God.

I say all of this to illustrate this point: There are times in our lives when we may be absolutely consumed by the "storms" in our lives and we might be rocked by it's uncertainty. But one amazing thing we know is that our almighty God is great in goodness and faithfulness. His word is alive and active and moving on His people today just as He did yesterday.

And even though evil may try to shake us to the core and pummel us with it's hail of fear and hate, we can be assured that He is with us, that He brings peace, and He works for the good of those who love Him.

It could be generations before we may see what He did with our stories but we know that He hides us in the safety of His shadow. And when the storm is over, we can listen for the church bells, stand at His throne, bow in humble adoration and say "my God, How great thou art".