It’s raining today. It’s been raining for about a week. There have been periods of sunshine – just enough to dry the roads a little and heat up enough water for a tepid shower.  At first the thunderstorms and the steady of patter of the raindrops are a nice change from the days and days of heat and sweat that come with sunny days. It’s fun to be secure in a cozy home and curl up with a book or in front of a good movie.  But after the 8th day and with 8 more forecasted, the spirits start to droop and all of life takes on a gray hue.  Plans have to be cancelled and getting up an hour early in order to miss the traffic on the way to work starts to get exhausting. Staying in bed and sleeping away the bad weather becomes ever more appealing.

Sometimes that describes life. We have those stretches in life when trials and storms come. In the beginning you might feel brave and heroic; you are going to be the righteous martyr who takes the pain without self-pity and will glorify God in the midst of suffering. But then disappointment builds upon disappointment. Dreams fade and life just doesn’t turn out like you pictured it would. Friends betray; jobs don’t fulfill; bills pile up; expectations aren’t met; health fades; hearts break; God seems distant.  Courage starts to wane and there are days when you want to stay under the covers and sleep life away. You never seem able to get ahead.  There are days when life seems to cheer up and your hope is renewed once more, but those days seem so few in number compared to the ones with trials and temptations.

Yet every storm must come to an end. The rainbow appears, the clouds roll away like the curtains on a stage and the sun brilliantly pours forth in all its glory. You look around and are surrounded by green – everywhere! The flowers are smiling, the trees shouting for joy. You want to kick off your shoes and jump into the glorious blue of ocean and sky.  But your spirits couldn’t soar nearly as high if it wasn’t for the repression of the storm causing you to wait.

And so it is with life. You will make it through the darkness and the reward will be all the sweeter for the agony that you went through in order to obtain it. The appreciation for life and all of its blessings is greater for the tempest.  Trust the God who can still the sea.