I arose one morning to a magnificent storm; complete with hard, steady rain, an occasional bolt of lightning, and rumbling thunder that said it was here to stay for the day. As every Sunday, I had mentally committed myself to be in church that morning; otherwise, our family probably would have slept in. It was just that kind of storm. The kind of storm that says take shelter and avoid at all costs, hide from it, stay in, hope that it will pass, but by all means don’t face it.
Even though, I had committed, I wrestled with myself several times about how tired we all were and that God would understand. All the while knowing the times we had made the decision to miss church; something seemed to be missing from our week. So, while wrestling, I continued to prepare for church.
We walked outside to a beautiful morning. The bully of a storm that had taunted us, telling us it was here to put limits on our day had ended much more quickly than we thought it would. We made a decision to walk through it to get to where we were going; rather than sitting still. The blessings of a word from God for us all, the familiar faces and love of fellow church members, and a renewed spirit to assist us in the upcoming week were waiting for us on the other side of the storm.
Our family’s experience that morning mimics life.
When my husband’s business closed, it appeared to be the ultimate storm. A storm complete with intimidating flashes of uncertainty, telling us we would lose everything, including our future goals and dreams. A storm with a steady rain of financial challenges; seeming as if they would never end. The storm was at times paralyzing, tempting us to hide and take shelter. We were all dressed and ready with plans, the storm threatened to wash us away.
Storms come quickly and threaten to limit our lives and shake up our plans. They are so fierce at times, our very lives feel threatened, and it seems they are here to stay. We want to hide, stay in the bed, and cower away from the storm. We have to keep walking. Our amazing God doesn’t tell us the storms won’t come, but he promises He will be present during the storm. When the time comes, He’ll step in and command the storm, “Peace, be still!” (Matthew 8:23-27) and put a halt to the storm that seems like it’s here to stay.
We have to keep walking and allow our spirit of power to kick in, and not lie down and allow the spirit of fear to consume us. (2 Timothy 1:7) Continuing to walk is the only way to get THROUGH the storm. God will always do His thing, and on the other side of the storm will be a blessing and a lesson. The key is to not hide in shelter, but to keep walking through.
After church that day, as we were on our way to another destination; another storm popped up out of nowhere. This too mimics life. Storms sometimes seem to come one right after the other. Expect the storms. We may not look forward to them but we’ve learned to expect them.
There are many who are currently in a fierce storm. Keep moving. Walk knowing that you don’t walk alone and look forward to the blessing of sunshine and beautiful rainbows on the other side.
Tracey Evans is an insurance underwriter who has a passion for writing. She enjoys developing programs attached to youth sports and extracurricular activities. Tracey is in the process of developing a ministry and organization, Moms of Champions and Champions Chance. Moms of Champions is a ministry of moms who pray for and encourage excellence in their children who participate in sports and other activities. Champions Chance is an organization in the making that will provide funding for children to find “their thing” and participate. She can be contacted at momsofchampions@yahoo.com.
