I opened the front door and stood in the doorway, breathing in the remnants of our early morning rain. The thunder didn’t awaken me at 5am…it was Denver standing at the front of the house, whimpering that pulled me from my slumber. A mother’s radar is always on, even with four-legged children.

Slipping my feet into my fuzzy house boots and sliding each arm into my writing robe, I made my way to the large wooden table that he was hovering behind. As I sat down, the 90 pound dog walked underneath the table and laid down releasing a sigh of relief. The poor guy is still scarred from 2023 when a storm meant raining firewood. That’s not the case anymore since the landlord agreed to keep the trees trimmed, but that was a terrifying season, and provided a mighty work in my previous self.

Today it’s different, but really we’re different as my response during storms continues to evolve. As lightning lit the sky and thunder rumbled, I sat in darkness whispering words of gratitude to God for the much needed rain and for keeping us safe.

I don’t know that I’ll ever be completely calm during thunderstorms, but huge strides of progress have been made. Denver dog used to lift his head from the floor and stare at the ceiling as if knowing before I did that a tree branch was breaking and getting ready to crash upon us. I still recall how my body would tense and fill with anxiety every time he lifted his gaze because seconds later you’d hear a crack and then boom.

From that harrowing experience years ago, I try to make friends with my fear. When the winds pick up before a storm, Denver and I step outside and stand underneath the canopy of trees, but now we both look up in awe and wonder as the wind whips through the treetops making them dance ferociously to the beat of mother natures drum. This practice strengthens trust in a power greater than ourselves, but He lets me know when it’s time to retreat inside to safety.

The Tenebrae Choir did an hour long track of chamber music for the Calm app. That morning, sitting at the large, wooden table with a quivering dog underneath, I pulled up the app on my phone, found the chamber music, and pushed play. Our energy relaxed as the high pitched soprano echoed off the vaulted ceiling above us and while the storm raged outside, it felt like we were gathered in a cathedral of calm.