Storms

Last night the lightning flashed and the thunder shook the house to its very foundation. The lights flickered at one point, I noticed the alarm clock flashing when I went to bed at ten. A summer thunderstorm like the ones when I was a kid. At least now I don’t hide under the covers, I welcome the energy and the excitement. It amazes me how as a child I felt so helpless and so out of control during a storm. Perhaps it was because I had not experienced enough of life’s storms to that point, and was unaware if I would come through the other side unscathed or not. Now all these years later, the fear is gone. Is it because so times in my life since then I have walked through the fire without even the hint of smoke on my clothing? Or is it just the realization that some things are totally out of my control. Amid all the darkness I have learned that there is always light up ahead, far away as it may seem sometimes, it lights my way, brings me needed comfort, and the strength to continue on the journey. Sometimes we need the storms to show us just what we are made of, or to see how far we’ve come. I call them “mile markers.” We all need them to give us a sense of just where we are on the road of life. When I was younger, I was famous for not using a roadmap, always getting lost, and hating to stop to get directions. Now, I print out Mapquest and have been known to borrow a friend's GPS to get me where I’m going. Is it maturity, or just the fact that I got tired of getting lost? I’ve also had the opportunity to swallow my pride while pulling into a service station for a little navigational assistance. It’s not fun to get lost or even while you're cruising down the right road, not knowing how far you may be from your destination. Read the signs, look for that light on that dark highway…it’s just ahead, you’ll see! The storms only last for a little while, learn from them, and enjoy them. The lessons learned will be mightier than any lightning bolt, and they will resound in your soul louder than any thunderclap. And who knows, you may even find once you’ve reached the end of the journey, you actually enjoyed the ride.