It was chilling and raining hard, but it wasn’t so much the cold and rain as the wind that tagged along. This wasn’t the nice or friendly air; those types that moves slowly, ruffles the leaves and tempts one to dance in the rain - no! This wind came with enormous strength and energy that it seemed to give the rain even faster speed than it had. I brought out my umbrella to shield me from this rain and wind, but the vengeful wind bent the ribs of my umbrella and tore it off its hinges.
I tried to remedy the situation, to straighten out the umbrella, fix its tips back into the hinges, but it just would not work. The
frigging umbrella was determined to disgrace me as people walked by with hidden smirk on their faces. Some bothered to say hello, but none offered to share the comfort of their umbrella with me.
Some weeks before this incident, I saw some umbrellas on display while shopping. They were small, stylish and appeared strong and were going for five pounds. I picked one, flicked it open and I liked it. But then I remembered I had seen something similar at another store - the one pound store. So I smiled at the kind lady selling the umbrellas, found my way to the one pound store and picked me an umbrella; small, stylish and appeared strong.
Back to my ordeal, I gave up trying to fix the one pound umbrella and braced myself to face the assailant. I found a bin nearby into which I dumped the umbrella. I was surprised though, to find other umbrellas’ also in a wrecked state had been dumped in this bin.
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| THE UNFORTUNATE UMBRELLA |
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| UMBRELLA, FRIENDS AND BIN. |
So the strong wind ruffled me and the rain kissed me roughly as silver drops made a pretty mess of my newly plaited hair but I finally made it to class. I gave a thought to my unlucky experience and imagined how the situation might have been milder had I spent an extra four pounds to get a better umbrella.
An umbrella is very important; it can protect the skin from the burning sun and serve as a shield from the rain and biting wind. I wonder what the Psalmist was thinking when he wrote these words:
‘’He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will rest in the shadow of the Almighty,
I will say of the Lord: He is my refuge and my fortress,
My God in whom I trust’’ (Psalm 91-NIV)
This sounds a lot to me like the psalmist was describing a quality, strong and dependable type of Umbrella - an Umbrella that shelters and forms a protective shadow and also serves as a refuge and fortress. Another Psalm describes safety under wings and shadows.
How many times have we exchanged this security for sleazy options? Drugs, illicit sex, alcohol, corruption, ‘white lies’, (the list goes on), sometimes take the place of the One Sure Security of life. And trust me; these things won’t hold up when life thrusts its trials and tests. We need a wind tested and trusted Umbrella that will keep its shape even through the fiery storms, irrespective of whichever angle the wind comes from. An Umbrella with a strong and flexible frame that won’t give way when faced with adversities and high pressures common to life; The Psalmist sure knew about this Umbrella.
PS. I've since gotten myself a better umbrella ;)
