The Eye of the Storm

If you think this is going to be a blog post about my knowledge of meteorology, I'm sorry to disappoint you. However, know that if I did write such a post that it would be either very short, or nearly a copied and pasted article from Wikipedia.

Anyways!

Today, I'd just like to share with you some thoughts that I have floating around in my brain. So, here goes ...

It's amazing the amount of pressure that can force its way into one's chest.

Sometimes it really feels like you just want to burst. You want to scream and cry and punch a wall because you're so frustrated that everything is completely out of control, or, at least, out of your control.

This is what I like to call a life "storm".

Sometimes, you see it coming. Sometimes, it comes out of nowhere. And, sometimes, it's nothing like what you had predicted. (Thank you, Weather Channel of my mind.)

For a while, you feel very defeated - like there is nothing you can do but sit there and take it. It's similar to that feeling you might've had as a kid looking out the window during a bad thunderstorm. You feel so small and meaningless ... Maybe even sick to your stomach. What can one so little do against a storm so big and strong?

The wind keeps raging. The rain's still pouring.

It seems relentless - just like your thoughts of "How can I solve this?" that lead up to the only reality you can see ...

"I can't."

I know I have felt this way numerous times.

It's one of the worst feelings in the world to have to sit there and watch things be torn apart - things that were once beautiful, or should be, or would have been.

Have you ever watched footage of a tornado tearing through a populated area?

You don't even have to know anyone who lived there to feel the deepest sympathy as homes are blown apart like they were made of nothing more than paper and held no memories within its walls.

You can't help but think about how these people's lives were turned upside-down.

Most of us know what that feels like, even if we haven't been at the mercy of a literal storm.

It's so discouraging to feel so useless.

But I find that, in the midst of things, I am overwhelmed - and not with grief, or anger, but peace.

My Lord Jesus has me in His thoughts always, and I easily forget this.

One thing about weather I do know is that the eye of the storm is also the calmest part of the storm.

... Doesn't that blow your mind?

Right there in the middle of something so vicious and uncaring is where you can find peace.

I thank God that I can stand and watch things fall apart around me, but that does not mean I must yield to the wind and let it destroy me, too.

No matter what your personal views are, when you find yourself at the center of a situation in which you feel you cannot win, know that you have already.

You're at least half way there. Although, you cannot see where it ends, you can rest assured, it does have an end. And you're already stronger and braver than you were when the storm first came, because no matter how puny and weak you felt, you stood your ground.

You did not run.

You faced your fear.

And that is what being brave is all about.

I know! Shocking to find out it isn't about having poofy red hair, a Scottish accent, and a bear for a mom, isn't it?!

I hope that these thoughts have encouraged you, and maybe even made your burden feel a little lighter in knowing that you are not the only one to ever feel this way.

'Til next time ...

~Whitney