On my birthday, when I was 10 years old, my parents let me invite 6 girlfriends over for a bunking party. My friends rode home with me on the school bus that cold, February afternoon, not knowing that a blizzard was bearing down on southern Minnesota, or that it would be almost four days before we would be plowed out and able to get the girls home. By the end of the four days, three of the girls had decided they didn't like me, and preferred to be friends with my younger sister, Becky. The other three stayed loyal to me - the battles we had must have driven my parents crazy.
After that, it didn't matter whether or not the buses were running on the country roads or how deep the drifts in the driveway were - my Dad would put us all in the pick-up and barrel down the road to town - whatever it took to get us out of the house and into town for school. If there was any way to avoid it, there was no way he and my mother were going to be stranded at home with four cranky, overly-energetic kids, ever again.
That was my first memorable experience with Stormy Weather, and the havoc it can wreak.
Since then, I've had to drive in sleet, through white-outs, and on sheets of glare ice.
I've experienced floods, straight winds, and hail storms. I've been on a mountain during a lightning storm, and headed to the basement with the tornado sirens blaring too many times to count.
In my soon-to-be-published, second book, Stormy Weather, Rachael Jones is caught up in a maelstrom of wild weather that acts as a catalyst for everything that's good, bad and uncertain in her life. Focusing on Stormy Weather, and how different people react to it, has made me think about the rough patches in my own life, and how I've dealt with them.
When a tornado threatens your word, do you cower in the basement with your arms over your head until the storm has passed, or do you head out with the storm chasers in hopes that you'll get some good photos of the phenomenon?
In my husband's sermon a couple of weeks ago, Paul gave thanks for the storm that left them shipwrecked on the Island of Malta, where he was able to share the Good News with the islanders who rescued them.
When your life is beset by a rash of stormy weather, do you become bitter and cynical, even blame God, like Rachael does, or like Mac, do you believe that everything unfolds the way it's meant to, that all things work together for good, that golden opportunities - even rainbows - are born out of even the most adverse situations...? Does Stormy Weather terrify or excite you? How do you cope when the sky unleashes it's fury on your little corner of the world?
“A storm is brewing, and as usual, Rachael Jones is in the middle of the fray. If the local banker succeeds in bulldozing the Victorian houses she's trying to save, she’s in for yet another rough time before the skies clear. The only bright spots on the horizon are her friendship with Luke... and her secret rendezvous with Mac... Is Rachael meant to weather the storm with Luke, who touches her heart and soul so intimately, or with Mac, who knows each sweet secret of her body? STORMY WEATHER... Stay tuned for the latest forecast!”
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Comments: 28
Yes I,M old enough to remebe the winter of 36' when in southestern Ia. the farm folks had to get out tere slays to get to town for supplys,the dirt backroads were drifted full the 16 and 20 foot telephone poles were barely showing out of the ground!
(But more a fan of Sherrie's books!)
you're always in my mind dear..love
However, down in bayouland where I always am for Hurricanes, most of us love to stick around but when a mandatory evacuation is issued, most of us have no choice but to leave - by then, the roads are filled as are most of the motels...so it's get out quick and hope for the best...
I need to check your first book as well - congratulations!! Salud