The Storm

The Storm is passing over…

The storm
I’ve never had a fear of storms. As a matter of fact, as a child I welcomed them. I was living in Louisiana when hurricane Andrew went through Florida and then into Louisiana. I remember the tension and the fear of my family around me… not knowing if they storm was worsening in our area because the power was out. It was serious, but I wasn’t afraid. I have always understood the severity of a storm like a hurricane- I don’t want to sound ignorant. I have merely never seen terror in the eye of the storm.

As it turned out, we didn’t get extreme weather in our town; just a few down power lines and shingles were missing here and there. That was just life to me- and I was only 5.


The rain
I have been alive for 19 years now… and I would have to say I like where I am today. I have only been alive for 19 years and my life hasn’t been all sunshine and roses either. Life is hard for everyone. We aren’t born with an immunity to hurt… it must be calloused, we must endure it. We experience degrees of life and change and sorrow, but why? I have dealt with death, relocation, betrayal, adultery, verbal abuse, near death experiences and severe depression; I’m only 19. There has been a lot of rainfall in my life, but I know why I am here- standing in the rain.


In the sunshine
You can’t always expect the sunshine to be so great either. When I was young I was naive and that was the way it should be… but we can’t stay that way. If I never scraped my knee, if I never lost a best friend… If I never played in the rain I would drown.


The storm is passing over
I heard a song when I was 12… and to this day I only know one verse. It was simply:
The storm is passing over…
The storm is passing over…
The storm is passing over…
Halelu- hallelujah- hallelujah…
Don’t ask me how, but I have never lost the words or the tune to this song… It is embedding in my mind after hearing it so long ago. I always equate pain and hard time with my spiritual walk. I have been told by many people that things in my past and my response have nothing to do with my spiritual life. It’s real pain and it’s real depression… but it doesn’t mean you don’t trust God. To me… It’s very different.


Hallelujah
I have weathered a good amount of experiences in my life… and I know I am not finished yet. But that is what makes me excited. I have seen the eye of the storm now. I can say that I am alive and that God delivered me. It doesn’t make something like death or betrayal any easier… but it reminds me that God is holding my hand in this storm.

Jesus had to endure storms… at the hand of the sea and at the hands of my sins. All of them bring me back to this constant truth… the storm is passing over. Hallelujah!