The Storms of Life

Life brings sunshine and happiness. Life brings laughter and joy. Life brings pleasure, fun and rewards. Life brings meaning to our days in more ways than we can comprehend. Life can be amazingly complete as we revel in all that we have and all that God has blessed us with. We rise each day and go through the motions . At times everything just seems to simply exist, perfectly. Day in and day out life moves on. It rolls like clock work and we fail to give it another thought. We fall in to the routine of normalcy. Life is good and life is blessed.


And then the wicked ugly clouds roll in. Darkness overtakes us. The storm commences. Thunder cracks and lightning strikes. Hail pounds against us. Raging winds threaten to destroy us. Drenching rains threaten to wash away whatever security, comfort and consistency in life we have.

For my family, we have had a nice long run of normalcy. We have been blessed with normalcy for quite some time. It has been on the busy and chaotic side of normalcy, but we have been happy, content and healthy.

Five days ago, that changed. Our pastor's sermons from Ecclesiastes suddenly seemed to take on more meaning .....

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1

....Last Sunday was a beautiful, warm, springlike day in early March. My husband and my son were itching to ride their dirtbikes over the trails of the local motorcross park. Nothing like the smell of bike exhaust, motor oil and dirt on a spring day to make them feel manly, free and in charge! We had family in town to visit, but I encouraged my boys to go enjoy a couple hours of "play" time on the trails anyway.

The trails they rode soon led to what would be a trial in our life. A trail they had traveled before wasn't quite so kind to my husband that afternoon. He took a nasty spill into a ravine and required assistance from my son and a good samaritan to make it back to the truck. After a painful and grueling 6 mile trip, my husband and son made it home. My husband was obviously injured and in pain, but at that time we did not realize the seriousness of it. His "manly" resistance to medical care lasted just under two hours until we convinced him that a trip to the ER was absolutely necessary.

Nine hours of sitting in the ER while my husband underwent scores of x-rays, scans and tests made me realize we were in the midst of a storm. One of those storms that comes and upsets the normalcy of life. When storms hit in your life, where do you run to? Where do you seek refuge? Where is your cover?

I was fearful. I was anxious. These tests on my husband were frightening. I ran to where I knew I would find comfort. I ran to my God! I ran to the one who is a mighty fortress. I fell at the feet of the One who protects me when storms threaten to destory me.

...The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. ~ Deuteronomy 33:27 ...

... You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Psalm 32:7-8 ...

My God delivered me from my fears. He comforted me with his words. He revealed goodness to me. Scriptures filled my mind. Songs of praise rolled through my mind because after all, God is good. He is good all the time. Even in the storms of life.

You see, I had to praise him during this time, because after all, my husband was still alive. The Lord delivered me from my fears and reassured me that all would be fine. That no matter what the outcome was, he would carry us through it.

... I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.  ~ Psalm 34:4 ...

While the time passed in the ER and we waited for test results, we learned that my husband was broken. Physically broken. On his right side ... Dislocated shoulder. Shattered shoulder. Chipped shoulder joint. Fractured upper rib cage on both sides. Ribs separated from sternum. Bruised lung and small pneumothorax with the threat of a lung collapsing. Broken left hand. He was physically broken and bruised. And I think he ego was bruised too. But sing praises to God. He was alive. He was conscious. He was not paralyzed. God had delivered him.  

After nine long hours, he was finally transported by ambulance to a local hospital where he would spend the next couple of days to begin his recovery and be observed for more severe injuries that could be "hiding". It was a long couple of days. But it was filled with many prayers and searching by me for why and where does this lead us. I don't have any clear answers to that yet, but I do know that God will reveal it to me in His time.

This season of our lives has a purpose. For whatever reason this trial has entered our lives, it has been pre-ordained by God. Storms happen in our lives.

God has ordained a time for everything. And he loves us through it all. ~ I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.  ~ Jeremiah 31:3

No one is immune from the storms .. or the trials that we all must encounter as we travel through this life. These trials help us grow ... not only in faith, but in knowledge and wisdom. For whatever God hopes to show us through this season, I am ready. I am ready to grow, to learn, to love, to be thankful for the blessings and normalcy, for the hurt and pain, for the total package. The total package is what living life is all about.