Riding out the Storm
My husband and I stood on the beach watching thunderous waves from a massive storm surge crash upon the shore. Despite a nor'easter pounding the East Coast this weekend, we traveled up to Kennebunkport, Maine, for a planned weekend getaway to enjoy our freedom as empty nesters. Anticipation hung over the coastal town as reports of flooding in Virginia, New Jersey, and New York flashed across the news.
What surprised me was the various responses to the pending storm. Surfers came up from as far as New Jersey and down from Quebec chasing the storm for the chance to catch the perfect wave. There had to have been fifty or more bobbing up and down like a pod of seals, and we caught their excited looks coming both in and out of the water.
Some businesses shut down. Others acted as if it were just another rainy weekend. Some guests canceled their bed-and-breakfast reservations and stayed home. Others packed their raincoats and boots and were ready to brave the elements. The Bed-and-breakfast owner shrugged when asked if he was worried about the weather. He said that the old Victorian house had withstood many storms.
A nor’easter happens when cold air (typically from Canada) meets the warm air over the Atlantic and picks up moisture. A low-pressure system forms and can rapidly intensify. Zoom out on a radar map, and circling bands appear. Zoom out farther, and there will often be other storms developing off the coast of Africa or blowing in from the Midwest at the same time.
It may be a pessimistic view, but it’s been said there are three phases in life: going into a storm, being in the storm, or coming out of the storm. I’ve used this scripture many a time, but John 16:33, bears repeating. Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
We can show up with our rain boots and coat and think we have a plan, only to end up barely able to keep our heads above water. We can panic, thinking we’re going to drown. However, if we keep our eyes on Jesus, we’ll remember that our lifeguard walks on water.
Sometimes several of life’s storms hit at once, battering us repeatedly. Yet God doesn’t leave us without a paddle. Everything that happens in life is preparing us for what is yet to come. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says, “God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.” Remembering how God has seen us through in the past gives us a solid foundation to anchor to.
We can also be like those surfers, swimming hard to get out in front of the wave and riding it to see how far it takes us. James 1:2-4 states, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
No matter what storms happen, we don’t have to fear, because God doesn’t waste a storm. He redeems it.