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Surviving The Storm

It slammed into the shore, spraying sea foam while churning up the sandy beach.  I found myself caught and tumbled helplessly with it.  It's like being in a giant washing machine, spinning and turning upside down as water forces you this way and that.  You are under the wave's control, it grips you in its power.  When it decides to let go, you hope it has at least left you beached and not taken you back to sea. . . 

I felt that same surprising turmoil as I ran today in the cool September morning.  The blast of air I ran against immediately awakened my senses.  But for now, I guess I have resurfaced for I find myself breathing air again.  Surviving the surf is but a taste of surviving the storm.  Modern life is trapped in days of tremendous storm, we see the devastation daily. It seems we are hit with daily tsunamis--be it natural, physical, emotional, or financial.  I don't know why we are so stunned, for history has always reminded us that life is full of hardships, tragedies, sufferings, and injustice. Life is delicately sustained only by the One who can calm the sea . . .

Today, I am grateful for boundaries.  Yes, the tide has washed away my current plans and efforts, but for now it has receded to its place.  It no longer poses threat.  I can choose to sorrow in my stuff that's gone or I can gratefully thank my Savior who has brought me through the storm.  Gratitude allows me to live one day at a time, to not be bitter, to lovingly serve others as I identify more with their personal pain and burdens. Storms reveal our hearts, expose our nerves, and zap our strength.  Yet, in that vulnerability lies a chance to once again choose life and hope. . .

"In the place God desires to put us, His presence is a reality.  His servant is aware of God's presence. . . . in putting us into His place, He will develop our character--it will be a place of stretching, enlargement, growth.  It will be a place where we can exercise our muscles--where we can keep active by engaging in the conflict.  God will go before us."
                                                            (Exodus 23: 23-33)
                                                       
                                                               Daddio 1984



     

Comments

  1. Ronda StrubharSeptember 5, 2011 at 9:54 PM

    Dear Mary, I feel your struggle as you again compare life to the ocean. As battered as you are by those waves and strong currents, it is not yet your time. God has something marvelous ahead and He is preserving you for the good things that are coming. I love you and wish I were there in those waves with you!

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