Stormy Weather

I looked up at the sky.  It was filled with ominous black clouds.  The wind was lashing through the branches, howling around the corners like a wounded animal, the air heavy with anticipation of the coming storm.  Soon the heavens opened and the rain started pouring down.  Inside the safety of the house I could feel my heart beating heavily, keeping time with the drumming of the rain on our roof.  Lightning flashes sliced through the sky.  Like usual I felt ill at ease, like a butterfly tossed in the wind, anxious and frantic.  Stormy weather is my least favourite.  Even today, as a adult, I feel like hiding with my skittish cat underneath the couch.
Thunderstorms sometimes take us by surprise.  Beautiful, sunny days can suddenly be turned upside down by a devastating wind or the arrival of thunderous clouds and drenching rain.  Plans for a picnic then goes by the wayside, the barbecue gets cancelled and the birthday party taken indoors.
So too does life also have its unexpected thunderstorms.  Life as we planned it gets interrupted or changed.  It leaves us feeling fragile and vulnerable.  We worry, anxiety threatens to overpower us and we lose our peace.  Even the little storms of life unsettle us and leave us frustrated.  We focus on the problems raging about us and begin to feel hopeless. 
As a child I would put on classical music whenever there was a rainstorm and then I would watch the raindrops, pretending them to be ballerinas.  This helped to make me feel calmer, the storm less threatening, shifting my focus.  When life's storms rage about us, we too must change our focus.  All is not hopeless, God is always there.  We can rejoice in the fact that He is always present, He is our calm amidst the stormy seas.  When we focus on Him we can walk on the water, it is only when we turn our attention to the wind that we are overcome by the storm.
When the storm is over, silence settles on the rainy reflections, the sun breaks through the clouds and bathes everything in a golden glow, the leaves shine like precious gems, the air is as fresh as the first day after creation and we are heading for sunshine again!

If you flutter by here please share with me how you feel about thunderstorms or rainy weather.  To comment click on the words "no comments" or "1 comment " and follow the link.  I would love to hear from you.