by mattheaglass
Monday rolls around, and instead of refreshed from a Sunday rest, we drag ourselves into the work week. This morning, I woke up reminded that the Savior I know commands the storms of my life.
Storms train me in patience.
Storms coach me in perseverance.
Storms drill me for long-suffering.
Storms hone my mercy for others and myself.
Storms educate me in compassion.
Storms ground me in tenderness.
Storms bring a deeper relationship with the One Who Rescued Me.
Do I like them?
NO!
Storms create the sweetest moments with Jesus! I appreciate the person that I have become because of them.
*Note… don’t say this to someone going through a powerful storm. It may discourage them! A friend in the middle of a wild, tempestuous storm may not be able to process that Jesus will bring good out of the frightening darkness she faces. I concentrate on what I have witnessed the Savior do in my life, and the most important thing to do, sit and listen without judgement. Unless you are able to fix yourself; don’t attempt to fix your friend (hint: you can’t fix either of you). Trust the work of the Holy Spirit in your life and hers for healing, teaching. We are instructed to correct a fellow believer, who is caught in sin, but that’s not the kind of storms I’m referring to.
Jesus saves us from being corrupted by this world, He doesn’t save us from the storms of this life.
A great lesson from the garden is that seeds germinate at different times even though one plants them at the same time. Some need more heat or water, or something. I don’t know why. God illustrated this point to me this morning in my garden with our green bean plants. Some popped up right away and have beautiful leaves. We thought some needed to be replanted because the seed was a dud. On our walk through the garden, we saw the dud seeds peeking through the soil.
Don’t give up on yourself! Don’t give up on your friend! Just because you feel like a dud seed, you’re not. Maybe you need a little more heat or a little more water or a little more time. Don’t despair! I needed a lot more heat and a lot more water to come through the storm of grief and church wounding. Now, I say to my folks at Celebrate Recovery, “Keep coming back. Don’t try to jump a head. Take one step at a time! Don’t set arbitrary deadlines. Keep coming back!”
If you are looking for help, my Resource page has a link to a Celebrate Recovery locator and a link to find a counselor.
Tomorrow, I will post the history and background for my study on Colossians. Keep coming back!
Flourishing Faith 
Great post and so much truth! Our storms sure do make us stronger and closer to Christ but they are not fun. And I like how you added not to say that to someone going through a storm – it’s true, it may not always be appreciated 😉
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Thank you! I had therapist say to me that unless someone endured the same storm or worse, don’t listen to advice from that person. People want to help, but we often say hurtful things without realizing it. I’ve been guilty of it myself. After my son died, the most helpful people just sat there and cried with me. No words necessary, just tears.
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Aw bless you. It’s true, sometimes we want to be helpful but like you said if we don’t know what someone else is going through we may do harm than good. And people deal with storms in different ways also…just because I may appreciate one kind of response from people doesn’t mean everyone does. Good reminder 💗
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