This storm too shall pass

Storms of earth...Storms of life...

I don't like storms. There are some people who do. They are called storm chasers. I think those people are crazy! Seriously! Who goes around chasing storms?! Not me. I like to avoid storms as often as possible. But, as much as I would like to avoid storms, all storms for that matter, it's not an option. Storms happen. Sometimes storms can't be avoided.

Storms of life show up...sometimes out of nowhere! Like those when it's nice and pretty outside, around 80 degrees, pleasant then all of a sudden the wind begins to blow, the skies turn dark and we begin to think, 'Ummm, this looks bad, this could get ugly, I better take cover.' And we do. We take cover as soon as and as best as we know how.

I'm curious to know how many remember the old storm shelters? We had one in our neighborhood when I was a child. It no longer exists, but I saw someone else's when I was in Ga for Easter. They seemed to be pretty abundant back in the 70's.

A couple of nights ago we had a pretty big storm. Then yesterday morning as I sat by the beautiful Lake Wheeler, I began to thank God that the storm had passed. It was gone. The sun was shining beautifully over the lake and the skies were blue. The storm was nowhere to be found. So, I sit here today, blogging about my thoughts as I sat there in the warm rays of the sun. It seems I always appreciate those rays of sunlight so much more after a big storm.

Storms are scary.
Storms are loud.
Storms are unpredictable.
Storms are powerful.
Storms get our attention.

Most of the time there's torrential rain, damaging hail, loud thunder, bright flashes of lightning, and howling wind. Scary stuff. Crazy stuff. Uncontrollable stuff.

So, we take cover. We take shelter. We decide where the closest, safest place is and we go there. We take our kids there. We go where the foundation is the most secure and the walls are most protected. We wait. We listen. We wait. We listen. We pray. We wait. We listen. We pray. Until the storm passes. And the storm does pass. It finally passes.

One of the only good things about a storm to me is that it always passes.

The storm passes and we decide to emerge. We step out and begin to assess the damage:
What has been broken?
What has been blown away?
What has been uprooted?
What has been removed?
What has been destroyed?
We have to determine these things before we can realize what needs to be fixed.

We call the home owner's insurance folks and they send an adjuster to evaluate the damage also. With that official assessment and proof of damage, a claim is filed. A claim to receive payment for all the stuff to be fixed.

Then they right a check. A check that can be cashed to pay for the repairs, the damage suffered, and replace everything that was destroyed, lost or blown away.

I've gone through many storms in this life. I would suppose you have too.

My girls always hated storms too when they were younger(well, they still don't like them). I could no doubt, guarantee that when the first bolt of lightening happened and at the first crack of thunder that followed during a storm, I would have two extra little people in bed with me. This happened many nights. I would hate when storms would come through on the nights when they were at their daddy's house. God spoke something very strongly to me one day after a storm had gone through the night before while they were with him. When they came home the next day, I was very eager to see how they had slept. When I asked them about it, they had no idea there had even been a storm! God got my attention in that moment and the Words He spoke to my heart that day was, "I got this, I got them, I can make them sleep through any storm." Those words were more than assuring to me during that time. I can't even try to contain my emotions almost ten years later as I think of them. See, I was in the middle of a huge storm called divorce at the time. My girls were sleeping in their daddy's home on almost half the nights without me. And I didn't like it. God showed me that day that they were His to take care of before they were ever mine. He showed me that He could keep them through the storm we were going through. He showed me was God and I was not.

I went through another storm when I lost one of the dearest persons on this earth to me to heaven. My heart and my life was turned upside down all over again. He was in heaven and I was not. I was not okay with that. Are we ever? It is hard. We miss them something fierce. We have to allow ourselves to mourn and grieve their loss.

Last week, yet another storm showed up. I found myself in a hospital going under anesthesia for the first time to have surgery removing polyps from my uterus. I don't know what was harder, the thought of being put to sleep or waiting to hear if the polyps were cancerous or not. I didn't like it at all. I didn't like anything about it. I am thankful to say they were not praise God. But, that was a pretty big storm for me. One I won't forget too soon. One that certainly had a purpose.

Storms of life definately come. They are unpredictable. They get our attention. We are tempted with that awful thing called fear. They make us go to that place of shelter where we get quiet, we get in His Word, we pray, we listen and we wait. We ask questions. We wonder when is this storm gonna be over? What kinda damage is this gonna do? Am I gonna survive this storm?

Storms come and storms pass.

Things get damaged. Things are lost. Hearts get broken. Dreams get shattered.

The good things is that we have an adjuster. Not just any adjuster, but a divine adjuster. When He comes to assess the damage with us, He comes with the payment in hand. To cover ALL the cost. To cover ALL the damage. To replace ALL the things that were lost. His name is Jesus Christ and the home owner's policy was secured over 2000 years ago and sealed with His own blood when He not only faced but came through the biggest perfect storm of all time. When we choose to follow Him and make Him our everything then He will make sure we survive every storm that will ever come our way.

He not only comes with payment in hand, but He also does all the repair work!!!! There is time that we must set aside for the Repairman to come do what He does best!
Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

He is our great Repairman and we are His masterpiece. He will make us whole again. We are whole again when we are found in Him.

He doesn't just patch up the place either. No. Don't we know how hard it is to match old vinyl siding with new? Old shingles with new? He replaces the whole entire siding! He replaces the whole roof! We needed those old things replaced anyway! Some things get blown away that needed to get blown away! I needed that fear to be removed! I needed that doubt to be removed! I needed my shallow heart to be replaced with a deeper heart of trust. He refuses to put new wine in old wineskins because He knows we can't hold it. We will bust! He puts new wine in new wineskins. It all becomes new. One of my favorite verses is 2Cor 5:17, "What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!" That's good stuff!

No doubt there are many storms of this life. They keep coming and they keep passing. They leave us damaged and they blow us away even at times. But, be encouraged to step out of that place you ran to taking cover when it all began. Step out and call on Jesus.  The premiums have all been fully paid. You and Him together can assess the damage, the loss and destruction. He can do the impossible. He can repair the irrepairable. That's His job. It's what He specializes in most.

Isaiah 53 says, "Yet, it was our weaknesses He carried; it was our sorrows that weighed Him down. And we thought His trouble (perfect storm) were a punishment from God for His own sins! But He was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped, and we were healed!"

Isaiah 63:7-9, "I will tell of the Lord's unfailing love. I will praise the Lord for all He has done. I will rejoice in His great goodness to Israel, which He has granted according to His mercy and love. He said, 'They are my very own people. Surely they will not be false again.' And He became their Savior. In all their suffering He also suffered, and He personally rescued them. In His love and mercy, He redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them through all the years(storms of life)."