Don’t Fear the Storm

I’ve always loved being on the water. It’s truly a time when I can disconnect. My love affair probably started because when we were younger, we spent a lot of time as kids fishing, skiing, camping on sandbars and river banks.  I have a lot of fond memories of those times. I was never a fan of storms, though. Too many times, we found ourselves trying to outrun the storm to the dock only to be swallowed up in the darkness and wind.  Obviously, as I sit here writing this, you realize we always survived even when the winds and lightning were fierce! (thankfully) For someone (a worrier) like me, rising out of the depths of those storms, left me feeling stronger! I always wanted to shake my fist up at the sky and say, “YOU THOUGHT YOU HAD ME, but look at me now!” 

I think about the many crews at sea who could see the storm coming, so they would go about their duties of adjusting the sails. Sometimes it required the sails to be lowered completely in order to reduce any resistance for the wind.  Wind can be wicked. The gusts of wind reach out like a giant hand through the darkness to pick up and toss anything in its path. You don’t know you are in its grip until you are…I often wonder how quickly they could adjust when gales suddenly attacked their ships. It’s like they bubbled up out of the sea to grab them without warning.

If you think about it, life really is like a ship on water. People go through life living by adjusting their sails as needed to avoid being pulled apart.  The winds of change can be full of happiness and hope with the union of two people in love, the birth of a child, beginning a new job, starting a new year at school and let’s face it the list will continue on to infinity.  But, life is full of storms too. Divorces, affairs, death of loved ones, losing a job, fights with loved ones, losing a home to fire or literally to a storm such as a tornado or hurricane. And, yes, we could continue forever with this list. What we shouldn’t do is go around comparing life storms with one another like mine is worse than yours. Because let’s face it…it doesn’t matter how big your boat or ship is, to a canoe in the water, a summer storm can feel like a hurricane! 

So, “Late” Lee, my family has been confronted with some changing winds that is requiring us to adjust our sails. I truly believe when the questions kick in that’s where faith must begin, so we have to anchor ourselves in God. I love the verse, “ We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm, and secure.” – Hebrews 6:19 I am not sure how you choose to weather your storms, but I choose to hit my knees and pray. (It doesn’t mean I don’t cry or ask why.)  I remind myself constantly that God knew this was going to happen before we did, so he knows the outcomes. He never makes mistakes, so we should just lean on him for guidance and understanding.  

All people weather storms. Some may choose to give up and live in fear of living life to its fullest and refuse to see the beauty of the storms, but others may choose to find joy in them! Garth Brooks had a song (back in the day) that I loved. One of the verses of the song went something like, I could have missed the pain, but then I would have missed the chance to dance with you. We can’t stop living life! There’s too many dances to be shared!

Storms may wash away homes and land, but in the aftermath, often the true human spirit is revealed.  I’ll never forget what it looked like at the school I was serving as principal at following one of the hurricanes. I drove up and cried. Beautiful oaks that I had grown up seeing had been badly injured. Tangled heaps of broken limbs (huge limbs) were all over the grounds.  School would be in session the next day, so how would our children run and play on the playground with the debris? We met with our staff (the ones who could make it back in to town) and you know what they did…they helped adjust the sails of our sweet school, rolled up their sleeves and we went to work.  So many times that morning, I wiped away salty tears because the kindness and beauty of what I was a witness to filled me with an overwhelming joy. Our county maintenance crew brought chainsaws and hands to help lift. The National Guard appeared a couple of hours later and we cheered as they walked across the playground in our direction. Parents and children joined in helping to ready this field for the children the next day.  

We greeted our children the next morning with hugs of welcome and comfort.  And we were filled with pride as they played on the playground where a storm tried to prevent the joy, but because we adjusted our sails, we emerged a stronger school family! 

When the storms threaten, anchor yourself in faith, adjust the sails, and look forward to the beauty that you will encounter. Storms have a way of renewing us and ironically, helping us find our way!