STORMS ON THE HORIZON

STORMS ON THE HORIZON

I recently had the opportunity to visit one of my favorite places to be in all the world...the ocean. I have been blessed to see the ocean from many different places of the world and every time I look at it, I marvel at it's majesty, power and mysteries. I love both exploring in the ocean and standing on it's shores just listening to the rhythm of the waves. I am always moved by it's contradiction; both gentle and untamed at the same time. I'm pretty sure God is calling me to live someplace where the ocean is in my backyard, but so far, He hasn't provided that for me...yet😉 Hey - how can you receive if you never ask, am I right?!?
Maybe it's because I live in sunny Arizona that a change in weather is always welcomed by me. I grew up in cloudy, rainy, snowy, ever changing weather Ohio. When my family flew out to Arizona the first time, we flew through the thick clouds of Cleveland, having not seen the sun in about a month. When we landed, my sister and I told my parents (who were thinking about a job change) that they needed to make this new job happen no matter what! Who knew you could see the sun in middle of winter! I have a great love for the sun, the desert and it's consistent warm, sunny weather, but the ocean is where my heart lays.
While I was visiting the ocean, we had a couple of beautiful sunny days, but storms moved in over the water. The calm rhythmic sea started churning in an unpredictable way. The clouds rolled in dark and heavy bringing rain and wind with it. While it was fascinating watching the storm gather over the horizon, there was also an ominous feeling that came with them. I watched the boats on the water bounce and sway and eventually move to the dock for security. People on the beach hurriedly took cover back in their rooms and hotel staff secured anything that could blow away.
Weather storms are such a great parallel to life storms. We can all relate to watching a storm build both in reality and metaphorically in life. Then there are the storms that come in quickly from out of no where that tackle us to the ground with their strength, making us wish we had seen it coming.
In my life, I have experienced both. Sometimes I argue with myself over which one is worse - seeing it coming or having it hit me unexpectedly. I've come to agree with myself that both suck.
If you have read any of my other blogs, you will know that I struggle with fear, which I find ironic since I consider myself to be a person of great faith. How can I have great faith and deal with the fears that come with the storms of life? God specifically tells us not to fear in the books of Isaiah, Psalm, 1 John, Philippians, John, 1 Timothy, Proverbs, Joshua, Matthew, 1 Peter... you get the idea. Lots of verses to say we should not fall for the enemies deceiving whispers of fear in our lives. I can't believe that I am the only one who struggles with this, so what do we do?
I think the answer is found in scripture. Since God is the creator of storms, both physically and metaphorically, I think He is the answer to surviving them. I love that Jesus is so relatable in all we experience in life. He and His disciples spent a lot of time on a body of water, the Sea of Galilee. The weather conditions are very unpredictable because of the geography there. As fishermen, they experienced lots of storms and often times the storms came up quickly, giving them no time to prepare. Matthew gives us a great story about the fellas on the water. Jesus was on the boat and He was sleeping when a terrible storm came upon them and the disciples where afraid the sea would overtake them. Matthew 8:25-26 "And they went and woke Him, saying, 'Save us, Lord; we are perishing.' And He said to them, 'Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?' Then He rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm."
My mother, brother and I were having a conversation recently. We have all experienced the loss of a spouse and can identify with struggling to have faith, not fear, in all areas of life. My mom said that she wonders if when we get to heaven, we will have wished that we had greater faith in life. I think there is no doubt that will be my case. There are so many times when I could have chosen faith over fear, but I chose poorly. Thinking about what I might be missing out on when I get to heaven is a great motivator for the next time I have a choice to make between faith and fear.  Truly, faith versus fear boils down to God versus myself. I would much rather choose to have faith and not fear, putting God is in the position of having to show up and work the problem in my life instead of me letting fear take over and putting my trust in myself to somehow control or handle the situation.
Not that God does everything; I have to do my part in whatever situation that comes into life. Example: finances. Unless you are independently wealthy, I think we all struggle with money, especially those of us who are single parents. I can't just depend on God to support me. I have to work and budget and take care of what He has given me. But I don't need to worry that He won't provide for me and my kids. He has promised He would do that. But how many times do I stay up at night worrying about financial storms (or any other problem) on the horizon that may never break on my shores? Each time I choose to trust God, doing my part of the equation, but trusting Him to do His, He inevitably brings me through. I have decided to try and write down when these things happen so I can look back during the next storm and be reminded about how faithful He has been to me in my beautifully broken life!