At 2 am, I was awakened by such a loud clap of thunder that it shook the entire house. Since then, it's been raining at a steady pace. In fact flooding warnings are out for our area and may be for yours, too. I heard two rivers of interest to me are overspilling their banks: the Ohio River and the Wabash River! My sister lives near the Wabash, so maybe she can verify!
When my son left the house this morning at 8am for the second day of a local JBQ (Junior Bible Quiz) tournament, I asked him as I glanced at the sheet of rain, "Don't you want an umbrella?". He refused to take one. Of course, I didn't want him to get wet and asked again, but he turned me down. "I don't need one if I run", he said. Yeah, but when he got to the church, I'm sure he had to run quite a distance. You can't dodge all the raindrops, you know. AND You can't force your pre-teen son to carry an umbrella against his will.
Umbrellas are a funny thing, aren't they? All of my kids have loved umbrellas (at least when they were little). My sister bought some umbrellas once for my kid's birthdays and put their names on the umbrellas. They loved them!!! I enjoyed umbrellas as a kid... in fact I still do. My favorite is a red and silver one we have that's golf size. It's absolutely huge. Four of us can fit under there and stay dry.
I got curious this morning and did a little research on the web to try to find out the history of umbrellas. From what I found, umbrellas were first used thousands of years ago. Evidences of their existence have been found in ancient art and artifacts of Egypt, Assyria, Greece, and China. The original use was to protect from the sun. Umbrella comes from the Latin root word "umbra" which means shade or shadow. Could it be that they were around during the time of Jesus, too? Possibly.
It wasn't clear from my research who first decided to adapt the umbrella for rain protection. Some information suggested that the Chinese were the first to waterproof, others said it occurred in Rome. The methods described in the waterproofing were similar however, using oil or wax to lacquer the parasols.
The huge surge of use (of rain umbrellas) centered around the 16th Century in northern Europe. Northern Europe is known for it's particularly rainy weather. At first, the accessory was considered suitable ONLY for women, but then a man named Jonas Hanway carried and popularized the umbrella among English gentlemen. (Perhaps this "feminine connection" is a reason why young men like my son don't like to use umbrellas???) Anyway, the idea caught on and improvements in design, materials, and technology have continued to make the umbrella a staple in most households today.
In fact, it's not uncommon for most of us to have more than one! We cleaned out our Grandma's car several months ago and found 5 umbrellas in her car!
So how do I tie this into a spiritual idea? We all have a spiritual umbrella ...the protection of the Lord! I've heard Pastors and Ministers preach on the umbrella of the Lord for years! I haven't heard it referenced in awhile, and I thought we all could stand a good reminder. Now is a time that we need to remain under God's umbrella. We need the umbrella of the Lord to cover us. The Word talks about how we are save under his pinions (wings), but we have to remain close to Him to be covered. Don't step out from under His umbrella of safety, love, mercy, and grace! Oh, yes, and like my son, God can't force you to use the umbrella. It's up to you whether you face the world with His umbrella of safety or not.
And like a good weather forecaster, I will let you know before you head out the door today... you're gonna need your umbrella!
So to all my friends today, keep safe, keep dry, and keep an eye to the sky. May the Lord's protection surround you and your household!
