MY FAVOURITE UMBRELLA (Divine Protection)

Coming from the UK means I know a thing or two about rain. Additionally, three years in Uganda with its rainy season downpours added a whole other breadth of experience and knowledge. And knowing about rain means knowing a thing or two about umbrellas, and believe me, I've owned them all.

The cute patterned one that looks good but collapses at the first hint of rain. The compact that promises to fold into your purse but who actually does that once it's wet??!! The giant golf umbrella that weighs a ton but also protects your thighs and means you don't get that line across your thighs from the run off from your coat

I've had them in all sizes, shapes and colors over the years ranging from sensible black to whatever the current print fad happened to be to the cute green one with frog eyes that I had as a kid. I'd have one of those again if I thought I could get away with it!

I have a favorite umbrella though above any of those I owned. An umbrella that never gets left behind, but is ALWAYS with me. An umbrella that shelters me from storms so well, I don't always know they're happening An umbrella that can't get damaged by the wind or turn itself inside out

That umbrella is God. He never says we won't walk through the storm, but he promises to be with us, and this week I had a reminder how true that is, even when I'm not aware or thinking about exactly how much he is doing.

This band aid is the evidence of what a fellow PH patient calls "our signature move" : blacking out. I happened to be holding a glass at the time, and I'm not sure what happened, but I wound up with this. With the blood thinners I use it was still bleeding the next day, but it was tiny, and insignificant. TINY. Nothing. Not a big deal. Amazing! It could have been SO much worse. It's also the only time since summer I've hurt myself, and in the summer it was just a swollen and bruised cheekbone. Add one nasty graze on my face in the spring and that's it. That's the sum total of injuries from "our signature move". And by signature move, it IS a regular occurrence. My average is worse than some better than others. I guess about once a week but its hard to tell because it might happen a few times in one week then not again for two or three. Either way, I feel like passing out a LOT, and I think hit the ground once a week on average. And all that's happened is a piece of glass, a bruise and a graze. I've never blacked out crossing a road. I've never blacked out on the stairs. I've never blacked out with a knife or whilst cooking or near an open flame. I've never blacked out and fallen in a way which has broken a bone or seriously injured a part of my body.

So yes, there's a storm going on around me. Yes, I occasionally get splashed by some of it, and wind up with a tiny little band aid for a tiny little cut. But yes, when I think about all the probabilities and possibilities, I am undoubtedly covered, sheltered and protected by an army of angels assigned by the Lord most high - my favorite umbrella in ANY storm.