Saturday, January 30, 2010

Storms of Life

I have realized that my feelings dictate the quality of my writing. When emotions are high, words flow like a fountain. Here's a blog I wrote several years ago. (I have left it un-edited so I apologize for the grammatical and spelling errors.)
~~

Storms of Life 06/17/2006

I just came in from driving through a storm. I have never driven in conditions like that before. Everyone on the freeway was going 10 mph with their blinkers on. You couldn't see the car beside you or in front of you. You couldn't see lane markings. You had to follow the lights of the car in front of you and hope they were in the right lane. There was standing water, but you couldn't see it until you were in it so how could you try to avoid it? Some cars pulled over to the shoulder to wait it out, but the majority kept poking along.

My travel through this storm made me think of our travels through the problems that life throws at you. Sometimes you have to trust those around you to help you on your way, because you can't see the right path. Sometimes in the middle of that storm, there's another issue/situation that you can't avoid or get out of, you have to go through it too. ("If it ain't one thing it's another.") Some people give up and pull over to the shoulder. Others of us, battle our way through because we know the end is just ahead; that just around the bend, we'll see the rainbow that serves as proof the storm is over and that we've made it.

There are tons of sayings that we use to give ourselves and others inspiration: (I don't know who the original authors are and some may be shortened forms, so I apologize if any aren't stated correctly. This is how I've heard them.)

It's always darkest before the dawn.
If God brought you to it, he'll bring you through it.
Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. (Psalms 30:5)
It ain't over till the fat lady sings.
Faith will move mountains.
What doesn't kill you will make you stronger.
April showers bring May flowers.

Ok, the last was cheesy, but you know what I mean.

We all need to take a step back and look at how we weather our storms. We also need to remember that no matter how bad it is for you, it could be a lot worse. ("I was sad that I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.")

Just another thought: You never know what the person next to you is going through. He/she may be glad to have your problems instead of theirs. (i.e. you're complaining because you had to get the red beemer instead of the blue one because the sold the last one. The person you're talking to could have just gotten off an agonizing bus ride entailing 3 transfers in 2 hours.)

Sorry to ramble on, but rainy days inspire me.

To close, in the words of New Edition: "Storms will come. This we know for sure....Can you stand the rain?"