Roaring Thunder

Do you recall those lyrics, “I hear the roaring thunder?” Maybe you remember them as “I hear the rolling thunder.” Last night I had to think of those words and add a little volume during one of the most intense thunder storms I have ever heard.

I was awakened around 3 AM with what I first thought was a large truck rumbling down main street, a quarter block from our bedroom window. Then I realized the noise was not stopping and it sounded more like a jet taking off from the airport and flying around the city trying to gain altitude. It would fade in and out, but there was a constant roar with various crescendos, coupled with occasional explosions.
Maybe it was the foggy brain, but to sort it out I had to get out of bed and see what was going on. About then we were hit by a heavy rain shower and it began to dawn in me that the continuous noise was actually thunder.

There was not much to see due to being on the ground floor and lots of tall buildings all around. What I could tell was there were constant flashes of lightning, followed by long rolls of thunder blending together to actually sound like the roar of a jet engine. If I have been in the Midwest, I would have thought it was a freight train or tornado. Because the storm passed to our south, we were not in the center of it. Much of the lightning seemed to be cloud to cloud, resulting in long horizontal strikes followed by 5-10 seconds of rolling thunder. Multiply that by 2-3 flashes per second, plus echoes and you get some pretty consistent reverberations. It was impressive.

Well, if we are awed by His nature, we should also be awed by His presence. I hope you are.