It’s May in Oklahoma, and thunderstorms have been lined up like rush hour traffic to dump water on our gardens, threaten to texturize our roofs, crops, and vehicles with hail, or even put us on the alert for a tornado. Yards and weeds may soon be out of control. The lakes are rising and the rivers are rolling. Weathermen are on high alert and storm chasers are on patrol.

Yet, in spite of all that, the trees dare to paint our world in various hues of green. Flowers—both the planted and wild varieties-- unfurl their blooms in a rainbow of colors that range from delicate pastels to bold swaths of intense color. Sunsets and sunrises paint the sky and clouds in amazing colors that glow with the early sunbeams of dawn or the waning rays of the evening sun.

God does not leave us alone in the storms. Because of Him, it is a wonderful time of the year in a wonderful part of the world.

Congratulations to the graduates of the schools and colleges in our area. It’s such an exciting time for you. Celebrate and then proceed with prayer. Really. Too many of our generation wasted a lot of time learning that the hard way.

Next Sunday is Mother’s Day. Go out and fi nd that special card, maybe even a Hallmark. Or, better yet, write a special message from the heart in a letter to you mom.

This Sunday Shelley Brown sang “I Will Trust in Thee” as the special music selection. For me, the message was keep your faith in God strong when times are good, and especially when everything seems to be falling apart. Also keep that faith when you feel God’s presence, and trust God even more when you think He has withdrawn from you. He is there when you look for Him beyond your circumstances.

Rev. Brown’s message was “God of the Waters,” taken from Psalms 46:1-11. The mention of water in the Bible begins in the 2^nd verse of 1^st chapter of Genesis and continues throughout the Bible. God gives us water and all that is needed to sustain life on earth, and Revelation 7:17 speaks of “living fountains of water” in heave.

However, when Adam and Eve sinned, all of creation fell. The water that God had provided for our use could also become a source of danger, block our way, or even not be available to us at times. Some examples are the flood that only those on the ark that Noah built survived, the Red Sea that God parted when the Children of Israel were fleeing Egypt, and then their journey through the desert when God told Moses to strike a particular rock so that the people could have water. Jesus calmed the storm over the Sea of Galilee, and Paul weathered a storm at sea by clinging to the wreckage of the ship that he had been traveling on.

Today, we live in the same fallen world that mankind has lived in since Adam and Eve had to leave the Garden of Eden. Now Christians are being persecuted and killed in greater numbers than any other religious group across the world. The recent events in Sri Lanka are just one example.

Why this is happening we don’t know for sure, but we know that Jesus is the answer and we can turn to Him and pray daily for Christians everywhere. We can cling to the knowledge that God is good, and He gives mankind good things even in a fallen world. We know that God is love, and we know that God is all powerful and that He is here among us.

We can be aware, watchful, and prayerful, seeking wisdom and guidance. We are strong in the knowledge that we can safely trust our all to Jesus, knowing that He gave all for us.