Weathering the Storm

“Life’s roughest storms prove the strength of our anchors.”
-unknown

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Mother Nature put on a pretty spectacular night show last night.  Last night’s show definitely awakened the senses and me for that matter!  The sky lit up brilliantly with flashes of lighting and the booming thunder continued to echo into the early morning hours.  For some, storms can create a feeling of uneasiness.  For others, storms can be downright terrifying.  Some storms come through without creating any damage; others come wreaking havoc.   Storms come and go, eventually they give way to calm, peaceful weather.  It doesn’t matter if a storm is just a light rain shower or a storm is of tornadic intensity, all storms come and they go!  The main point is that they always go away.
  

Failure, disappointment, rejection, and hurt are the storms that we all face in life’s journey.  There are many different life storms.  Some are like a light rain that creates a minor inconvenience for us; some are like a supercell  storm that produces hail, torrential downpours, dangerously high winds and can spawn tornado, leaving us to clean up its aftermath; and other storms are anywhere in between.
    

The storms we all endure are a part of life.  Some storms come with advanced warning, while others   roll in upon us without much notice.   Some of life’s storms are beyond our control; others are within our control.  Unlike Mother Nature who has complete control over when she decides to unleash her fury, some of the storms in our journey, we are responsible for creating.   Our attitude about life and our circumstances, and the decision we make, are capable of producing a storm.  If we want to minimize the number of storms in our lives, we need to examine our lives and determine what might be causing our storms.   Is it our attitude?  Is it who we associate with?  Is it our self-image?  Is it a self-defeating behavior/habit?   A positive attitude, positive associations, a positive self-image, and positive habits will lead to calmer and sunnier days on life’s journey.   It all starts with the way you think.  If you want to minimize the number of storms you encounter, then you must change the way you think; negative thinking produces storms, positive thinking produces sunshine.
  

For those times when a storm rolls in and it doesn’t seem like it will ever pass, try calling on the man, whom the winds and sea obey his command.   The Good Book tells us that the Lord was asleep in a boat, accompanied by his disciples, when a violent storm came upon them.  Terrified, the disciples awakened the Lord.  He said to them, “Why are you so terrified, ye of little faith.”  Then, he rebuked the winds and the sea and there was great calm (Matthew  8:26).  Remember, the Good Lord is with you during each and every storm you encounter.  He will not abandon you.  Have faith in him, for soon you too will experience “great calm.”

It’s your life: live it, love it, & celebrate it!
MJD