We just spent 10 days in Florida. In the days before, I spent a lot of time checking the 10-day forecast so I would know what to pack. The forecast looked good for the most part and by that, I mean no rain and warm. There were a few cool days that appeared but by cool I mean 60. That's still shorts weather, right? So I packed. I felt pretty well prepared.
Well then after we arrived, the forecast changed...and quite drastically! We were not at all prepared! I kept checking my phone to see if there was any glimmer of hope; any chance the forecast was wrong. But it wasn't. And it was out of our control. We just had to deal with it and make the best of it.
Not so much unlike the weather are the storms of life. We all face them. We may think we can look ahead and see what is coming but out of nowhere, it can change. Clouds can move in and a storm can pop up. We can face those with fear or with faith.
During this vacation, we found that not only did we find ourselves unprepared for cold weather in what was supposed to be warm and sunny Florida, we found ourselves in the midst of storms of life.
Storms seemed to be coming from every direction. My dad, Cali and one night we got a call from Brian's brother letting us know that he had their mom in the ER with some health concerns. Thankfully she was ok.
My first reaction when the reality of the storms hit was, "this can't really be happening to me. This can't be happening to MY dad. This can't be happening to MY daughter."
But then I realize that it IS my dad and my daughter and there is nothing I can do to avoid the storm so I must hunker down to ride it out.
After I faced reality, I was mad. I was sad. Why is this happening? I hate that this is happening! I cried. It didn't change anything.
Finally, I cried out to God and decided that I need to fully trust, FULLY TRUST that this will work out for the good...like it or not.
So with that said, this song comes to mind:
I'll praise you in this storm
and I will lift my hands
that you are who you are
No matter where I am....
