The Storm's Symphony

We had just about finished our traditional late-night movie when it started.

The rain beat hard upon the roof.

The lightning flashed across the sky.

The thunder echoed long and loud.

It was a beautiful storm, the kind that would cause little ones to cry in fear.

I don't mind.

I love storms.

This one, in particular, was beautiful . . .

And the timing was perfect.

I had been trying for weeks to record a good storm to use in the background of one of the songs I've been recording.

The first one woke me early in the morning.

Apparently it had been going on long before that, as it was supposedly a lengthy storm, yet it was basically over by the time I got all of the equipment set up and clicked "record".

The second was just rain.

I figured, if nothing else, I might be able to piece the thunder and the rain together.

This storm, however, was perfect.

I caught it at the beginning.

The thunder was loud.

The rain was pouring down.

I got the equipment.

I opened the window.

I grabbed towels from my bathroom in an attempt to protect electronic devices near the window from any stray water droplets.

I pressed "record".

I let it run for over half an hour as I got ready for bed.

When I finished and returned to hit "stop", rain was still coming down, though more slowly . . .

And I'd recorded a lengthy segment of a thunderstorm, more than enough for my five-minute (or so) song.

I began turning equipment off,

Removing still-dry attempts at protection,

Disconnecting a maze of cables.

I was overjoyed.

I had finally recorded a beautiful storm,

God's perfectly orchestrated gift of drumming rain, booming thunder, flashing lightning (though I obviously couldn't capture the lightning with just a microphone) -

Beautiful,

Like a symphony.

So beautiful -

 And I'd manage to catch just a little piece of it,

Just a little bit of the beauty,

A little bit of the wonder,

A few notes in the song.

It felt as though I'd managed to frame the clouds.

In fact, I suppose that's what I try to do on a daily basis -

Frame the clouds -

Capture just a little bit of the beauty,

The wonder,

The song.

That's what I want to keep doing,

Because it makes me stand in awe

And worship.

It makes me want to learn how to live in worship,

For how can I not when I see the mountainous clouds with their perfect dabs of silver,

The flowers with fragile petals delicately painted,

The leaves changing from green to a whole rainbow of colors?

How can I not when I hear the little voices laughing,

The gentle waters flowing,

The symphony in the storm?

It's another one of those simple moments,

And I want to frame it so that I can remember -

Always.


"Frame the Clouds" is a beautiful song written and preformed by Christa Wells.  Many thanks for this work and its attempt to describe the importance of "the words", particularly for a songwriter.