Under Yonder

We’ve had a lot of rain this summer in the Deep South. And, of course, we’ve complained about it – as much as we complained about the summers of drought. And on those days when intense storms would announce their approach with dark, ominous clouds hovering above the horizon, I’d think of my grandmother Corbitt. Whenever Maw-maw would see storm clouds, she’d point out in the distance and say, “Look under yonder, shug. Something’s comin’”.

For a long time I didn’t know where “under yonder” was located. Now maybe I’m starting to understand.

Over the past months we’ve been looking off in the distance…over yonder, as they say…to our move to North Georgia. We have seen it coming and known that it would be here one day. No, it wasn’t a storm we imagined coming our way (although storms may come at some point), but we did anticipate a “climate change”. We would leave the city we’d called home for 26 years and live in the beautiful small town of Cleveland, GA (which is surrounded by the splendor of the Appalachians Mountains and is the birthplace of  Cabbage Patch Kids).

We would move to a house that hangs on the side of a cliff overlooking the valley where Truett-McConnell College sits – where Dennis is teaching.

We knew that in the beginning life in this new place would be hectic – we’d be unpacking all our worldly goods and trying to retrofit them into another place considerably smaller than our last one.

We anticipated the change in schedule, too. For a long time, our daily routine was not set by anyone. Things are different now. Dennis has a class schedule that he must keep and in a couple of weeks I’ll have assignment deadlines that I have to meet in order to complete my Master’s degree.

So, we’ve seen it coming and we kind of knew what to expect…over yonder. But now that it’s here, I guess we’ve arrived at that place Maw-maw called “under yonder”. I like it here.

A psalm comes to mind, too. It reminds me of God’s care and protection through all of these changes.

Psalm 91:1 “Whoever lives under the shelter of the Most High
will remain in the shadow of the Almighty.”