In the thick of the storm.

Sometimes the only way out is through.

I absolutely hate storms.  And I live in an area of the country that seems like the summer thunderstorm capital.  These little storms can pop out of nowhere, lighting up the sky with huge bolts of lightning and startling unsuspecting persons with such loud thunderclaps.  To many, these kinds of storms can appear pretty scary and huge.  But if you can be patient through some crazy moments of blinding rain and loud noise, you’ll soon see that they pass quickly. 

Then there are the storms that seem to last all day.  Just when you think it might be over and calm has returned to the area, another round hits.  I was driving around on this kind of stormy day recently, and it was awful.  I had a day full of things to do and no kids tagging along, so I was determined to check every errand off my list.   But every time I seemed to get behind the wheel again, headed for the next place, blinding rain and road debris seemed to be waiting for me about halfway into the drive.  Scary stuff to be driving around in.   And yet I really had no choice but to keep going, if I wanted to get to my destination. 

I’m finding that life can be that way.  There are those small but huge storm bands that scare us, but if we keep pressing on, we find that they really aren’t all that big and bad after all.  They are over and done with pretty quickly, and we are left feeling like conquerors for surviving them. 

But then, there are the long lasting storms - the ones that seem like they will never end.  They are the storms that seem to pull us under and threaten to defeat us… to make us feel like no matter how hard we try, we just cannot catch a break.   Among other life situations, grief is very much this way.  We try to steadily keep going, but it seems like there is always something threatening to destroy our joy.  Even when it seems like we’ve already survived through the initial storm bands, and it seems to everyone around us that we are doing ok, there are scars that will probably stretch deep enough to affect us for quite awhile.  

So, can storms and joy coexist?  Can we battle the storm outside while experiencing peace on the inside?  I believe we can, but it’s only found in Jesus… because He is the Master of the storms.   We are safe in His grip when everything around us is changed for good and reminds us of our loss.   I can choose to grip the steering wheel with shaky hands, fearful that I won’t make it to my next stop… or I can turn the radio up louder and sing at the top of my lungs.  I can choose to let the song be louder than the sounds of the storm even when it’s still raging on all around me.

I’ve seen enough to know that as long as we live here on earth, there will always be storms.  But our choice is always about how we will respond to them.  And, in knowing that maybe… if we hold on long enough… maybe, just maybe… 

He’ll allow us to see the rainbow.  

"Sometimes He calms the storms, and sometimes, He calms His child." - John H. Groberg