After the Storm

I can feel the warmth of the sun through the windshield of the truck. There is blue sky as far as one can see. I feel the rocking of the road beneath my feet as we roll East on I-40. Only a few days before, we were being beaten by an unrelenting wind; a wind that would not stop for hours, a wind that would destroy any and everything in its path if it were not tied down or strong enough to endure such a lashing. The rain was stinging and sometimes moving sideways. Yet, now all is changed and I find myself in a new place; a new sky, a calm that cannot be described in words, only felt.

There are so many that have attributed being spared through this storm of all storms as being lucky. I just want to grab hold of them and tell them, luck had nothing to do with it. What you experienced is God’s grace, whether deserved or not, that’s what you were given. Just like the sunshine and the rain that falls gently in better days, it’s His grace that you so proudly attribute to being “lucky”. There, of course, were many (believers in the Lord) that didn’t fair as well, but that doesn’t mean that they were not under God’s grace. They too were benefactors of His grace; only it was served in a different package. Perhaps, they kept their home, yet lost a barn, or the other way around. Maybe they will be without power for days because God has lessons for them to learn about themselves or others. He is a merciful God and truly wants our faith and trust in Him to increase. Even though we sometimes beat our chests and ask, “why God, why am I facing such hardships”? Those are the exact times He is trying to get our attention and make us focus on Him, and Him alone.

So I say to God, thanks for the trials, thanks for the hardships, thanks for the tough times before me. Because of these things, You make me open my eyes wide and see You. You and You alone are first and foremost. You are what matters, and all things that are good and not so good are dispatched by Your hands so that my faith increases in You.