Surviving the Storms

 

Last night brought about a series of thunderstorms that produced tornado warnings, strong winds, heavy rains, and some localized flooding.  At about 10:15 the tornado sirens sounded, followed by a 3 1/2 hour power outage at 10:30.  My husband got an oil lamp from the mantle and used it to light our dark, quiet home.

At that moment, I was thankful for the data plan on my husband's phone, and phonecalls from my mom to let me know what the local weather stations were saying about the weather.  We were in the dark in more ways than just our power situation...we were also in the dark as far as information.

Somewhere around what I think was 11:00, we finally began to settle down and go to sleep.  Used to the sounds of the hum of the central heating unit, and fridge...it was uncommonly quiet.  The neighborhood was pitch black for blocks--except for when the occasional lightning bolt would light up the dark house.

If you could not tell, I do not like storms.  I do not like them because I have to deal with the dark blackness of a power outage, I have to deal with rain and lightning, and the noise created by the ominous thunder.  As a child, it would send terror into my world.

I also feel the same about those spiritual storms that come into my life.  As one who thrives on order, peace, and the well orchastrated plan, storms just seem to rock my little world.  I do not like my darkness exposed.  I do not want to acknowledge its existance, much less deal with it on a personal level.  I do not want to be flooded by fears, emotions, and doubts that I need to face.  I do not want to be uncomfortable, and that is probably the one thing that I hate worst about storms.

However, life is not about comfort for the Christian.  It is about allowing God to work in those dark spots--exposing all of those portions of life that need to be whittled away.  It is about allowing God to flood into your life and expose those emotions, fears, and worries that need to be dealt with by exercising our faith and turning them over to God. Storms shower us with a hard rain to cleanse us  all of those things that need to be washed down the proverbial drain.

Storms can be scary, stressful times for us--but they also bring about new growth and regeneration into the world around us.  Just like storms in nature, spiritual storms can bring about spiritual growth and increased faith into our lives.  What we dread and see as "uncomfortable", actually becomes benificial and necessary in the life of a Christian.

The next time life throws a storm your way, just realize that nothing can enter the life of a Christian without passing through the hands of the Almighty God.  He will not put you through anything that He will not walk you through.  So the next time you hear the thunder begin to roll in the distance, just light a couple of lamps and settle in with the God who will carry you through the storm.