Almost thirty two years ago, when we moved here to Carmel, one of the very exciting things that I was looking forward to was to visit the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home of the famed Indy 500. We live about 40 minutes from the track and especially in the early years, I couldn’t get enough of the race preparation and the driver stats, etc. There were years that I went out to the track 10 or more times and at one point in 1984, we actually opened a westside office that was less than a mile from the track. It was exciting to see the drivers and hear the cars as they sped around the oval at speeds that eventually approached 240 mph.
Throughout the years, we have visited the suites located at various places around the course and I have been invited to all sorts of events at the track. But the one thing that you can’t do locally here is actually watch the race live on TV. Back in the early ’80’s, ABC started broadcasting the race live, except in the central Indiana market – so suffice it to say that I have never been able to watch the race live – except the one year that we actually went back to Chicago for a visit during race week-end and I watched it on TV. Imagine that – I waited my whole life to be close to the race and then I couldn’t see it when we moved here.
Anyway, the last several years I have been pretty busy during the month of May and the festivities at the track have taken a back seat to some of the other things in my life. But this May, I was invited to the track with Janet this past Friday and we had a great time. It was fun to return to the Speedway and see the sights and hear the sounds of the racing community. It never gets old – but sometimes I forget how much fun it is between visits.
So Friday was a great day – what memories we have at the track. But there is one part of all this that set Friday apart from every other time that I have been to the track. Weather! And I mean WEATHER! From our place to the speedway, Janet and I drove through three different hail storms and on the way home, a really whopper of a hailstorm. I am surprised that the car wasn’t damaged. There was no place to go to avoid the pellets raining down from the sky. It was intense. Finally, we reached the shelter of our garage and were pleased to be out of danger.
The Bible is full of examples about hail. Most notably, God has a conversation with Job during which God talks about the storehouses for the snow and the hail. But for tonight’s verse, I decided to choose something out of the Psalms. We are told by the psalmist, in Psa. 147:16-18, “He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes. He hurls down his hail like pebbles. Who can withstand his icy blast? He sends his word and melts them; he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow.”
When you read the Bible and focus on creation, it’s difficult to comprehend the awesome things that God does through His creation. My encouragement this evening is to remind you that God created the earth as a place for us to live in community with Him – remember, He walked in the Garden of Eden with Adam. My prayer is that you will take care of God’s creation as it has been entrusted to our care as stewards for future generations. And I also pray that you will never become complacent with God’s creation and the awesome power that He wields over every element of our lives. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…