"The lord thundered from heaven; The most high gave a mighty shout.  He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies; His lightning flashed, and they were confused." 2 Samuel 22:14,15

This month for devotional focus, I am drawing upon my twenty-seven years as a high mountain camp and conference center cook. I was Food Service Director in camps located in beautiful, but equally isolated high altitude locations.  From August on, thunderstorms would roll across the mountains every afternoon.  In those days, that meant the electrical power would go off every afternoon.  The storms would be so fierce, we would have to post lookouts at all the high points around the camps to look out for lightning strikes.

I remember this one particular camp.  It had a gorgeous brand new "all electric" kitchen.  The camp was owned by a group down in Los Angeles, and obviously, the owners had not given thought to the weather when designing this terrific kitchen.  Needless to say, this old Christian cook had some real challenges that first summer.  I quickly learned that I'd better begin preparations for dinner immediately after cooking breakfast!   While dinner simmered, I got lunch ready.  By the time the power went off at one o'clock, I was able to leave dinner on the heavy cast iron grills on top of the stoves and it would stay well above the safety temperature zone until dinner time.  The staff learned to expect lots of stews, pot pies, spaghetti and the like for dinner during that time of year. :-)

I had always had a fear of thunder since I was a small child.  My family and I had gotten caught out in a large Alpine meadow in the High Sierras during a really fierce thunder and lightning storm.  I had never gotten over that terror of having lightning striking all around us.

That particular summer, since I had my afternoons fairly free, I decided to study what God's Word had to say about "thunder".  I was in for a delightful surprise.  Since my study, I no longer fear storms;  I go out into them, and welcome my Lord's voice and sing praises to my Father.

Here are just a few of the results of my look into my Strong's Concordance:

"Just as Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines arrived for battle, but the lord spoke with a mighty voice of thunder from heaven, and the Philistines were thrown into such confusion that the Israelites defeated them." 1 Samuel 7:10

"As I watched, the lamb broke the first of the seven seals on the scroll.  Then one of the four living beings called out with a voice that sounded like thunder, 'Come!'" Revelation 6:1

The more I studied, the clearer it became; my Lord speaks through the thunder and lightning.  That is my Father up there banging around those clouds. Praise the Lord!  Now I love to go out into the woods and have a praise time with the God of creation during those storms.

Our Lord is with us during the storms of our lives, and through the trials we all experience in the line of duty in food service.  We just need to remember who the real "Boss" is.

What unique happening or difficulty has lead you to run to our Father's Word in a deeper way?  Share with us.  Encourage us with how the Lord has spoken to you through your day-to-day food service operation.

By Diane Boone
Christian chef for 35 years:  27 in High Altitude Camps and Conference Centers, and 8 as a Sheriff Cook II

If God is speaking to your heart about these things, and you need somebody to talk with, please don't hesitate to e-mail us about your need and somebody from the Fellowship will contact you as soon as possible.  If you have a prayer request or would like to start a theological discussion on this or any other topic please feel free to post it in our Message Boards.