It was May 21, 1981. Our daughter, Erin, was just born. She was so small, so beautiful, but so sick. We were filled with joy at her birth, but suddenly this “storm” moved into our lives. A storm filled with emotional and psychological wind, thunder, lightning, and drenching rain. A sick child was a new experience for us. We were not prepared for this! Jesus warns us that rain and storms would come. They come to each one of us. It rains in our lives, sometimes a lot.

Sitting by her hospital bed, I cupped the tiny hand of this gorgeous gift from God in my palm. She was so tiny, yet she had what seemed like a huge needle in the back of her hand (a hand no bigger than my thumb) and tubes coming from her nose, mouth, and arms that dwarfed her delicate features.

Nothing else mattered any more. This storm was our only reality. I never felt so helpless. I was used to “fixing” things, making things better for others, but now I couldn’t help my baby girl. I wanted to hold her so tightly against me, but I couldn’t. Both Laura and I began to cry out to God.

At some point during Erin’s long ordeal in the hospital I began to realize this experience was causing me to develop an incredible bond with her. She was my flesh, I was her daddy, and there was nothing I wouldn’t do for her. Looking back, I sometimes wonder if I would have developed that bond so deeply and so quickly if I hadn’t had the opportunity to walk through that storm with her?

Are you experiencing a storm in your life right now? Do you see nothing but the lightning flashes and trees swaying in the wind? Do you hear only the thunder and feel only the drenching rain? Cry out to God. He will hear you. Allow Him to hold you tightly to His chest and carry you through the storm. He will speak to you out of the storm. And, you will get a little bonding time with your daddy!

“Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm:” Job 40:6 (NIV)