KA-BOOM!

365 Days of Thanksliving — Day 232

Top of the week to ya, blog fans! Hope your Monday has kicked off on the right foot.

For me, Mondays are usually wonderfully uneventful, and today was tracking to be exactly that. Just the way I like 'em. But for this partial ‘wegian, lunchtime brought a sudden spike of mid-day "excitement." (Please note the heavy air quotes).

I rolled into the office, fueled up with breakfast, and mapped out a 3-day to-do list. Then? I got to checking things off as quickly as I could. I don’t know about you, but my soul just rests easier when I can physically cross items off a list, rather than flying by the seat of my pants. (I do the later also, but not on my busiest week of the month).

Before I knew it, Max strolled in for our weekly discipleship catch-up. I wrapped up my current task, relocated to the office table, and we dove in.

Max and I always start with the usual chit-chat before digging into the Scriptures. He consistently brings his A-game—usually armed with at least one well-thought-out, deeply profound question. Today did not disappoint.

His question hailed from the book of Ecclesiastes, which naturally required us to unpack the backstory. Just like a certain notorious politician, we had to "do the weave" to get to the heart of the matter. After weaving here, there, and everywhere—going all the way to Z just to get back to A—we finally nailed down the point that an aged, wonderfully curmudgeonly Solomon was trying to make. And right at that moment of clarity, we heard it: KA-BOOM!

"Was that... thunder?" I asked. Max nodded. "I think so."

Huh, I thought to myself. I hadn’t realized rain was on the docket. Honestly, I hadn’t even checked the forecast. Classic Jason mistake.

See, my morning commute was glorious. Super sunny, clear skies, and that intense July sunshine bearing down. Since my drive from home to the office is ridiculously short (yes, I could walk or bike, but let's be real, I don't), I rolled all the windows down to catch the breeze. I knew it was supposed to be an absolute scorcher today, and the last thing I wanted was to open the door to a 120-degree oven before heading home.

Hearing that thunder boom, I bolted up and peered out the window. No rain yet, but I confessed to Max that my windows were currently wide open to the elements. Max mentioned he was planning on walking over to the convenience store anyway, so we called it a wrap.

I quickly shut-down my computer, we killed the lights, and locked up the office. Stepping outside, we noticed it was merely spitting. Phew, I thought, my little Kia is safe. And as fate would invariably have it, the absolute second we got outside, the skies ripped open and the short-lived downpour began.

Max hopped into my passenger seat, we cruised to the C-Store, and just like that... the rain stopped. All I could do was laugh on the inside.

But ya know, I’m immensely thankful for that sudden clash of thunder. Had it not been for that heavenly ka-boom, my little Kia might’ve become a swimming pool. Instead, we beat the deluge by mere seconds.

Now, I get it—a damp car seat is the ultimate first-world problem. That said, I’ll never forget the time my brother left all the windows down on our folks’ 1976 Plymouth Volaré... and that night, buckets came down. We're talking actual inches of standing water on the floorboards. For the rest of that summer, that majestic station wagon carried the distinct, unmistakable stench of wet carpet.

That thunder today? For me anyway, that was heaven’s way of saying, “Hey J, don’t pull a Bruce. Roll your windows up before it’s too late.”

So today, I’m putting a tally mark in the gratitude column for that clap of thunder. And besides, it made for a pretty unique post, wouldn’t you agree?

What are you thankful for today? Until I see you on the flip side, be well my friends.