Thunderstorm of Hail and Fire

"This feels biblical," I said to my neighbor, crouching under an umbrella at the bus stop after school. Thunder warned us that serious weather was on the way, but I wasn't expecting the penny-sized ice chips that fell in sheets from the sky.

The seventh plague in the Book of Exodus is hail. In other words, the Pharoah had been warned six times already to let Moses's people go. The fact that the Pharoah could dismiss blood, frogs, lice, flies, pestilence, and boils as mild inconvenience is surprising, right?

In Exodus 9:13-35, God showcases his powerful portfolio and suggested to Moses that he share this message: "For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."

It's true, the problems that befall us all are incomprehensible. Locusts, darkness, and death are on the horizon for everyone. But that's not fun food for thought on a Friday night, is it? Instead, I choose to see nature's omnipotence as a gift, not a curse.

I stepped out from my friend's umbrella and soaked in the strange combination of pelting ice and mild spring air. Frost encrusted the crown of my head. Pellets hit the asphalt and skipped like villagers to shelter. My boy and I ran home in awe of the thunderstorm of hail, and the fire of wonder lit our path.