Storms don’t last forever

I am not usually a big fan of stormy, rainy weather, but I have enjoyed the past couple of days cosied up on the couch, with a cup of karak and watching the thunder and lightning from the balcony door. Have you ever been enjoying a perfect sunny day, but then, in just a span of a couple of minutes a huge storms rolls in. The sky turns from bright sunshine to charcoal grey within seconds? The wind speeds up dead leaves and debris gets hurled around. Sudden storms are a lot like life. One minute we are going along fine and then, all of a sudden, Boom! But storms don’t last forever and sometimes they allow us to discover beautiful things. The winds get rid of debris that would have piled up in the trees. The rain waters the flowers and leaves everything fresh. It’s the same with our souls. Instead of focusing on the hardships of life’s storms, what if we looked for the good things? Storms can strengthen us. They cleanse our souls. They can get rid of old debris, the things that don’t need to be in our lives.

Storms are great reminders that even when we’re being pounded, we always have the assurance that God will be with us for every difficult moment. The God who made the storm can certainly calm it, and he will stay with us until those storms are over. The natural response to the storms of life is doubt and fear, but I believe storms should be expected. Somehow we have managed to convince ourselves that if we do all the right things, know the right people, or have enough money, we can safely avoid the storms that life sometimes throws at us. You may not be able to control the inner storms any more than you can control the weather, but you don’t have to end up feeling angry or bitter. Each difficulty you encounter has the potential to teach you new things about yourself and help you grow in ways that would not be possible if life was always smooth. Life’s storms come in the form of tests, challenges and obstacles. You never really understand a storm until you are in one, but on the other side of the storm there is so much clarity. Sometimes storms will cost you something, there is no getting around that, but whether it gives something back is entirely up to you.