How navigating life can feel at times
Good morrow friends! It has been a while! Summer has come and passed, and here we are in a new school year. Lots of changes abound, and life continues onward. If this beginning seems rambly, it's probably because it is. I just really needed to write tonight, so here I am!
Anyways... Events in my life and the lives of others over this past summer made it abundantly clear what my next topic should be. Without further ado....
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Braving the Storms - The Ups and Downs of Life
Thunderstorms are awesome. Literally awesome. They inspire awe. I mean do you want to be outside during one of them? Imagine yourself outside in the worst thunderstorm you can remember. Thunder and lightning rage all around you. Rain pours down so hard that it stings your skin. All you want to do is seek shelter, but there's hardly any, and what there is is close to paper thin, only taking away the sting of the rain. Lightning pounds the ground around you, and thunder shakes the air. All you can do is sit breathless and wait it out, doing the best you can to make it through. In awe of the storm.
Isn't that how life feels a lot of the time? Like a never-ending storm? I have this paper to write and this class to go to and this friend to see. I have this problem to solve and that one and another. Family and friends and school and work. Or the failing of dreams. Or any number of things. Sometimes living just feels a little bit like dying inside. Like that boat in the picture, tossed about in the waves.
This past summer, I had a storm or two. People in my life made mistakes. Deep ones. And I had to deal with the aftermath. I had to face leaving behind everything I know and embracing a new reality (a separate post on that is coming soon!). And my prayer life had it's ups and downs. I was like that little boat, going up and going down, just trying not to capsize. I didn't understand why God was letting all that happen to me. Why? I mean did I deserve it? Did I do something wrong? And why wasn't He answering my prayers? Why weren't these people getting help? Why was He letting all this occur in the first place? Why did there have to be a storm?
Sadly, it's a fact of life that there are storms. Bad things happen. Rough patches hit. We all have them, and we all have to get through. They are never easy or fun, and really put us to the test. Let me repeat that: The storms of our life put us to the test.
Here we've found a key. Storms push us to grow. To be better. To become the best us we can be. When I got through those storms, I was the best version of myself I had ever been up to that point. Yes, they were tough. I lost a very dear friend. I endured a lot of drama. I asked questions about my faith and pushed myself. But it was all worth it. I came out of it all with stronger friendships. And my faith? It was the strongest it had ever been. I was the happiest with myself I ever had been when I finally emerged from the storms. Storms are our chance to grow. They are God's way of saying: It's time to move on, you are meant for so much better!
John 15:18-20 says ""If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you. Remember the word I spoke to you, 'No slave is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours."
God told us there would be storms, but that storms would make us stronger:
"Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." James 1:2-3
Storms are never easy, but God lets them happen so that we can become who we were meant to be. Or really, who we are. We already have all the qualities God made us with, we just have to draw them out. In hardship we are made into who we already are. Think of refining a metal in a furnace. The heat is so hot the metal almost melts, but then it emerges stronger than it was before. That's what happens to us in our storms. The metal was there all along, the furnace just made it more of what it was. Storms make us more of who we are.
I can honestly say that I've never enjoyed a storm of life. But every time I emerge I am so glad that they happened, because the person they make me into is so much more than the person I was before. I know this to be true for many of my friends as well. The next time you encounter a storm, embrace it. Thank God for it. Through the testing you will be made stronger. Life has it's ups and downs, but it wouldn't be complete without them. And if we never experienced our dips and turns, we'd never really become who we are.
The most important thing to remember is that God is always with us. He never leaves us, and never lets us navigate the storms alone. I picked the picture of a boat for a very particular reason. Remember the story in the Bible about Jesus in a storm? Jesus and the disciples were on a boat, out fishing. Jesus was taking a nap. It was a nice day and the weather was fine. Suddenly a storm came upon them, a massive storm. The disciples were afraid. Think of what a big storm that must have been, that fishermen who have spent their entire lives at sea are scared! These are grown men, not kids! And yet through all this Jesus sleeps. The disciples all in a panic awake Him, telling Him they fear for their lives. Jesus tells them to trust Him, then says to the storm "Be still". The storm immediately goes away and the sea is once again calm.
Jesus calmed the storm. We never encounter our storms alone. All we have to do is trust in Him. He guides us through them all along, and says to them "Be still" when they become too much for us to handle. The pains of this life are only temporary, and He is with us to navigate us through even the bumpiest of seas.
I started this post by saying that storms inspire awe. Yes, they are scary when you are trapped in them, and are had to get through. But they bring such great things: those beautiful just before rain/just after rain smells, the pitter-patter of raindrops, the beautiful lightning flashes and grandiose rolls of thunder, and much needed nourishment to plants. Not only are storms impressive when they are here, but they also show their impact when they are gone. The storms in our life bring good things, just as thunderstorms do, we just have to look at them the right way. Our ups and downs of life are truly awesome too.
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Whenever you feel like your pain is too much, remember that Jesus Himself had storms in His life. I mean facing your own death is pretty rough! Nothing is too great or too small to bring to Him.
The song tonight comes from the artist Laura Story, "Blessings"
In it she talks about all the things we pray for, and how sometimes it feels like He doesn't answer. How sometimes we just want the storms to end. It tells of how God lets us grow through the storms:
Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops?
What if your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near?
What if trials of this life, are Your mercies in disguise?
Listen to the rest of the song, it really defines the truth of our storms.
And remember that He is always with you, no matter what:
"And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." Matthew 28:20
Never give up, you are worth so much more than that! Weather the storms, and become who you are.
Praying for you all!
Until next time,
~Wanted~
