Storms

 

It’s storming. Rain and wind lashing the house and trees. Dark gloomy skies. The scene reminds me of a similar one forty-plus years ago.

 I was barely twenty, married, with an eight-month-old son. We were living in a single wide trailer on the outskirts of town. I sat at the dining table with a cup of tea, looking out the front windows at a similar storm blowing through our little valley. My son played quietly on the floor next to me. I savored the moment, knowing my abusive husband would storm in at any moment and make my life hell again.  

Although I divorced him and remarried a good man, I never recaptured that moment of peaceful contentment. More children, jobs, deaths, financial struggles, and health issues kept my life in constant turmoil.

Last Sunday, our pastor spoke on the Book of Joshua. God encouraged him, more than once, to have courage, strength, and faith while facing the giants in the Promised Land. How different would my life have been if I faced all my challenges with the same faith Joshua had?

In some ways, I did, but too often I worried about the when and the how, rather than leaving that up to God. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, everything changed. At first, I was that terrified twenty-year-old again, facing another monster, but through a vision, God promised to heal me. I stood on that promise through all the surgeries and treatments. After four years, I’m still cancer free.  

From this and so many other experiences, I know God will either bring me through the storm or calm the wind and waves, leaving me floating in a calm sea. Because of this, I can now watch not only the storm currently raging outside my window, but all storms without worrying about the next hour, day, or even year. God’s already there, sorting it out.

Here’s to that terrified twenty-year-old who never gave up.

Thank you, Lord, for always being there to pick up the pieces of my life and restore them into something even more beautiful. Amen.