I don’t know the history of the invention of the umbrella. I guess I could Google it, but even without doing that, I know that it must have come very early in the history of humankind. Adam and Eve, perhaps.

It must have rained in The Garden of Eden. Everything there was plush and alive and growing and green. Maybe it was that first rain.

“Adam,” said Eve, “my beautiful long hair (isn’t that what we see in the pictures? Lol) is getting wet.”

“Here,” said Adam, “take this and put it over your head to keep the rain off of you.”

“What do you call it?” asked Eve. “You have named all the animals. Surely you have a name for this thing.”

“Well,” said Adam, “it’s really just a very large broad leaf, but for this use I think I’ll call it an umbrella.”

“Umbrella!” mimicked Eve. “Seems like a very useful tool. No, it won’t stop the storm and the rain from forming and raging, but it will allow us to stand in the rain while keeping dry. Umbrella!”

“It won’t stop the storm from forming and the rain from falling, but it will allow us to stand in the rain while keeping dry.”

We know what eventually happened there in The Garden. The serpent, the temptation, the fall, the judgment. All of which led the way to the real storms of life, the trials and tribulations, the problems and hassles, the losses and disappointments, the troubling realities of our fallen sinful world.

But in response to those realities, God also gave Adam and Eve a promise. A promise that He would always be with them even outside the garden, out in the fallen sinful world, and that one day He would bring about the re-creation and salvation of the world.

What did Adam and Eve and all of us who have followed them in this world have to do to receive this promise and its restoration and salvation? Just one thing. Believe. Believe that God would keep His promise. Believe that God did and does keep His promise. Trust God for the restoration and salvation of our fallen sinful world and our part in it.

This promise and our faith in it is like, guess what? An umbrella. Our faith in God and in His promise of salvation by the death and resurrection of His Only Son Jesus Christ is our “Best Umbrella” as we journey through life.

Our faith in God and all His kept promises may not remove our real storms of life, our trials and tribulations, our problems and hassles, our losses and disappointments, our troubling realities of our fallen world, but our true faith in God gives us the strength and protection to stand strong in, endure, and even overcome them. Amen!

It has rained a lot so far this summer. Thank God for that. Everybody’s lawn looks great, and the flowers and shrubs are blooming and growing. And we know the next shower or downpour is coming soon.

Here’s what I’m asking you to do. The next time you reach for your umbrella and pop it open to keep the rain off your beautiful long hair or your good Sunday clothes, please remember this simple Truth.

“My umbrella won’t stop the storm from forming and the rain from falling, but it will allow me to stand in the rain while keeping dry.”

And, “My Best Umbrella of Life is my faith in God. It won’t stop the real storms of my life from forming and the rain of life from falling, but it will allow me to stand strong, endure, and even overcome them.”

And that’s the Truth. Thanks be to God!

Amen! And Amen!

Dr. Justin Kollmeyer is a thirty-nine-year resident of Fayette County. As a retired pastor, he is available for a Christ-centered, Biblical, traditional message or teaching. Contact him at [email protected]