The Raging Storm

The summer sky evolved into a green-gray color…
We often sat on the front porch swing watching the midwest storm roll in.
Amidst the eerie silence, occasionally the town’s tornado warning siren would ring out. My best friend’s dad, our neighbor, was a volunteer tornado spotter. I watched him exit out his back screen door, light his Marlboro cigarette and back down his driveway with a complete, yet mysterious calmness.
The short-lived stillness preceded the acceleration of wind, leading to lightning strikes, thunderclaps that shook the house followed by rain. Once the siren sounded, we knew the drill: check in with Mom and enter the cellar to wait out the storm. The cellar was dark and cold. I felt trapped. I longed to be able to see what was happening outside the safety of the concrete walls. I hoped someday to be invited to ride along with my friend, Jenea and her dad to serve as a volunteer tornado spotter. I had seen pictures and heard reports of a tornado’s destruction, but nothing “real” ever happened in our town. It wasn’t often that the warning lasted long, nor seemed scary. We would emerge from the cellar following the “All Clear” siren and typically the sun made an appearance drying the rain-soaked sidewalks as if the storm never happened.
One particular storm was accompanied by a power outage. Dad turned on an old portable radio to listen to the progress prediction of the storm. It was reportedly an advanced category tornado. Destruction was imminent. We all listened and were quickly silenced if a question was attempted. The mood in the cellar was different. The intensity was thick. The storm raged outside. I imagined some of our garden being damaged by the wind and hail. I hoped my bike would be okay. The wait was longer than it ever had been and the reports of damage painted a grim picture for nearby farmers. For the first time, the cellar felt like a place of refuge. I was grateful for its protection from the storm and peace in being together as a family.
We lived in southwest Iowa. It was tornado season. Severe weather was NOT out of the ordinary. The aftermath of this storm temporarily closed the main road outside of our town. The tornado’s path was an unprecedented half a mile wide. A few weeks later as we drove to church, we noted in disbelief the twisted trees and barren ground. Had the tornado’s path been a few miles in a different direction, it would have resulted in desolation of our small town.
Following this storm, I took tornado warnings a bit more seriously. I was more attentive to Mom’s need for help and prayed more diligently for the safety of our town and neighboring farmers. I certainly sighed in deep relief when the storm had passed and the sun re-emerged signaling all was calm.
In life, storms- both literal and figurative are going to rage. It’s the very nature of biometric pressure changes and our mortal journey. The sunny days where no threat is imminent is the EXACT time to prepare. Learning of Christ was largely a figurative process requiring imagery and faith. I was young. However, I was blessed with the opportunity to learn, test and try to understand forces greater than my eyes could see. Perhaps it was a bit of a gamble…
What if the Bible and other books that testified of Christ were just fictitious stories, and believing and living life with a faith based primarily in Him produced nothing but facts and frustration?
Or…Would the effort of choosing to come to know for myself, expanding my faith, talking with God, believing in Christ and all things possible in and through Him be worth the absolute work required?
I had no idea how hard, nor rewarding the latter would be. I was just a regular girl in a small town- embarking on a path of choosing to believe…

-JC

Chocolate Cake Cookies with Salted Caramel Frosting

Chocolate Cake Cookies

1 boxed chocolate cake mix (15 oz.)
1 3 oz. package instant chocolate pudding mix
6 tablespoons oil
3/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix all ingredients together on medium high for 2 minutes. Scoop out 24  -1¼” balls of dough onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake at 375 degrees for 14-16 minutes. Let cool. Pipe Salted Caramel Frosting onto cookies. Garnish with sea salt as desired.  Let set. Share. Enjoy!

Salted Caramel Frosting

8 oz. softened cream cheese
½ cup soft butter
½ cup caramel dip (T.Marzaretti’s or similar)
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of salt

Cream cream cheese, butter and caramel dip on medium for 1 minute. Stir in powdered sugar. Stir in vanilla and salt.  Whip on medium high for 5 minutes. Spoon additional caramel sauce into gallon size freezer strength Ziploc forming a “stripe” from one corner up the seam.  Spoon frosting into the same Ziploc and set aside until ready to use.