Monday I got caught in a terrible storm driving between my town and the town where my appointment was. Living rural means you get nowhere fast. It was at least a 30-minute journey under the best of conditions. It took me an hour-and-a-half to get home.
As I was driving, it struck me how focused I was on what was right in front of me. And it reminded me of how I coped this past year as I journeyed through the worst storm of my life. You may think I’m being dramatic, but I’m truly not. It has taken me the better part of the past year to be able to wake up without a lump in my throat and a heavy weight on my chest.
Maybe knowing how I got through it will help somebody else. And maybe, it will be good for folks to know, that the while sorrow leaves its scars, it does get less debilitating. You learn to live with the dull ache. You accept the moments you burst into tears at the grocery store when emotions flood without warming. But spontaneous, tearful waves do occur farther apart as time marches on. The ache is something you learn to acknowledge, grateful the agony doesn’t overwhelm you as it did in the past.
My stormy journey isn’t over. As long as we live on earth, we have burdens to bear. But knowing that I can survive a storm like the one I’m living through, has strengthened me in many ways. It has shaped me. It has groomed me for something greater and made me ready for what is next.
If we give our storms to Him, and keep praise on our lips, He will see us through. Doesn’t mean it is painless. Just means we get through it one step at a time. And we survive. Even thrive.
How has God gotten you through a sorrow? Hurt? Tragedy? Share in the comments below.
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