After The Storm

I love it when the sun comes out just after a furious and angry storm.  The skies have been darkened, they’ve roared with thunder, dumped stinging rain down, and the winds have beat across the earth.

Then, it’s gone. There is a calm. A peaceful smell to the air. You look outside, and the storm has passed. In its place is a gentle ray of sunshine cracking through the sky.

I love that moment.

It’s as if God is saying, “All is well.”

We may be scared during the storm. We may think its fury will overtake us. But it doesn’t. We make it out to the other side. And it’s beautiful.

Just as in life.

Some storms seem as if they will never move on. They are angry, vindictive, and unmercifully beating down on us. All we can do is hunker down.

And then they are gone. And we realize that we are safe. We made it through.

The air smells fresher. The sky seems brighter. We stand a little taller.

And we are thankful.

I wish that feeling would last. That knowledge would take root. For it’s in those moments that we see life a little more clearly. Our priorities come into a little better focus.

We need storms. We need them to wash us clean. Shake us up a little. Sift out the bad. And remind us. Remind us of what truly matters.

We are small, but He is big.