The Forecast

I can’t control what happens around me anymore than I can control the weather. Oftentimes we have to just wait out the storm to see what kind of damage it leaves behind. The problem with the storm is you never know what it will bring or what it will take. What I’ve learned in life is that no matter how much you prepare or stay in the know, it never turns out as expected. You see, that’s the thing about the weather - when the storm is over, everything is different. And to be honest, you don’t even realize that it is at first; sometimes it takes a while for the dust to settle. But what I know for certain is, you will never be the same person after the storm, that’s just the truth. You will see things a little bit differently, maybe a little clearer.

In a state of feeling lost, I’ve learned to lean heavily on my faith. In this season I keep coming back to the correlation between the storms in our lives and the great flood in the bible. You see, God did not flood the earth to destroy it, he did it to restore it. To wash away what was evil and restore what was good. No matter what you believe, the storms we face in our lives do something very similar. They disrupt the path we are on to show us what we are made of. You can’t control when the storm is coming, hell, you can’t even control how long it lasts, but what you can control is where you’ve put down your anchors. Make sure that wherever you've chosen to plant your roots, you give so much to the foundation so that even the strongest of storms won’t break down what you have built. Give all that you are to what you want to last, only then will you be ready for the storms to rage through. Although this could be a metaphor for a physical place you’ve built to seek shelter from the storm, home isn’t always four walls and a welcome mat. Sometimes home is where your heart feels safe, where your eyes turn to in a crowded room. Home won’t always be something we can touch, but it is something that will withstand the storms we face.

I used to find it strange how people would stay home and ride out the most dangerous storms, even after they’ve been warned to evacuate. The older I get, I understand why they stay. How could you feel safe anywhere other than in the place you call home?

When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person that walked in. That’s what the storm is all about.