Thoughts of a Mrs. Modern-Day Mountain Woman Chapter 31

Chapter 31: Storm clouds on the horizon.

“A few minutes ago every tree was excited, bowing to the roaring storm, waving, swirling, tossing their branches in glorious enthusiasm like worship. But though to the outer ear these trees are now silent, their songs never cease.” John Muir

I grew up in the Midwest. You could see a storm coming from miles away. Watching the clouds build and move towards you, hearing the rain hit the fields as it moved in your direction; it was very powerful. It was also a bit scary. Tornados happened frequently. One even touched down just a couple of miles from our house. Midwest storms can be amazing, electrifying, destructive, and yet life-giving all at the same time. One minute you are playing or working outside, when suddenly the air pressure changes, the sky grows dark, a cool wind blows, and before you know it, a big thunderstorm is upon you. Once it has passed, the birds come back out, the sun begins to shine, a rainbow appears, and the needed moisture helps open the flowers and feed the plants. Storms have to happen in life. They’re required for earth’s survival.

Storms don’t just happen in the natural world, but also in the mental, physical, and spiritual realms. Sometimes you can see them coming from a mile away, other times you’re hit unaware by the storms of life. In either situation, you need to be prepared. I personally would never live in a place where tornados were frequent without having a basement or safe shelter to go to. It’s the same from a spiritual perspective. You shouldn’t go into the battlefield without being ready for the storms that will come up because of your faith. I love the story of Jesus calming the storms. He and his disciples decided to get in the boat and go to the other side of the lake for some quiet. A huge storm came upon them and the boat was nearly swamped. Jesus was sleeping through the storm. His disciples were panicking and cried out to Him to do something and asked him if He even cared if they all drowned. He got up and told the wind and the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Instantly the storm stopped, and the waters were completely calm- no waves, no splashes, just complete calm. (Mark 4:35-41) His disciples were amazed that even the wind and waves would obey Him. Jesus was disappointed that the disciples still had such a lack of faith in Him. In our life’s storms, do we cry out to Jesus for help? Do we have faith that He knows the storm is there and that He is still with us the entire time? Are we comforted by His presence, even if He isn’t appearing to rescue us from the storm? We should be; we should be comforted that He is in the same boat with us, even if He’s able to sleep through the whole ordeal! Jesus knew the storm was there, He was waiting to see if His disciples would trust in Him or trust in their fear of the storm.

Storm Clouds Building.

When life brings changes, we can choose to withdraw and find the bad, or we can find the good in life. I remember when I first started dating my husband. He had never been in an upper Midwest thunderstorm where you can hear and see the storm coming towards you. Once there was a hail storm that hit my family’s farm. Mr. Modern-Day Mountain Man was so impressed with the power of the storm and the sound of the hail and rain coming across the cornfields. Afterward, he saw the destruction of the hail as it dented cars and took the paint off the house. He apologized to my dad for enjoying the storm so much when it had done so much damage to the farm. I remember my dad telling him that there was nothing we could do to stop the storm, we may as well enjoy its power. What a great motto for life. We can’t always stop the storm, but we can appreciate its power. We can be prepared for the storm that is coming and have a plan in place, have a safe shelter to go to, have the windows shut against the rain, but most importantly, have a positive attitude about the changes the storm will bring. Could it destroy your crops? Yes. Could the storm reduce your income or make your job obsolete? Yes. Could the storm give you the opportunity to call out to Jesus? Definitely! We know that Jesus is always with us in the storm and in the calm. He’s always in our boat. The deciding factor is whether we choose to realize He is there and hold on to Him, in the calm and in the storm.