Storms II

Are you ever glad that someone near you is experencing the same suffering that you are, yet at the same time you would do anything to make their pain go away because since you too are experiencing it, you know how terrible it is?  It is an odd paradox.  Its the place we get stupid comments like, “God is allowing you to go through this so you can help others who experience it.”  I think the “God is allowing it” stuff is pretty much a complete load, seriously, I’ve been so blessed by people who (thankfully because why would we wish pain on another person just so we can feel better?) are not and have not gone through what I have gone through.  That being said, I also don’t think that God is just going to let our pain and suffering sit in isolation.  If there is a way to get some good out of it, He will.

That is where I found myself one night as I drove toward a thunderstorm the next county over with a dear friend whose pain I would gladly of taken from her if I could.  I guess there were plenty of other places we could drive, but perhaps it was the recklessness that has been borne from our confused hurt, or the desire to be near something so obviously greater than ourselves, or maybe we’re just freaks for thunderstorms, but that’s where we drove and that’s where we wanted to drive.  For thirty minutes or so we drove as lighting streaked miles and miles across the sky in front of us.  Have you ever stopped to realize that?  The lightning we see are miles long streaks of electricity.  We see them from our perspective, but lighting is so powerful.

We didn’t see a raindrop until we got about two miles or so from the storm.  As we drove closer, passing cars and trucks on the side of the road, we began to see a well defined super-cell which was illuminated periodically by lightning flashing behind it.  It was definately something to behold.  Once we started seeing hail, we turned around and drove the other direction for about five minutes.  After five minutes though, the reckless desire returned, and we turned around and drove back toward the storm.

This time we met the storm much quicker than before.  We stopped in the midst of the down pour and I tried to catch a piece of hail but soon realized that, one, if I did actually catch a piece of hand, it would hurt really bad.  And, two, the hail was very large and blowing in almost horizontally.  so, we turned around and started to drive away from the tornado that we had not-so-accidentally driven into.  Long story short, we made it out, but only after much prayer and my appologies to my friend for “killing us.”

So many storms come our way in life.  Some of them are outside of our control, but it seems like others we drive ourselves into.  By that, I don’t mean that they are nessisarily created by our own bad decisions, though that does happen.  Sometimes they are created by our pursuit of good things like friendship or love.  More, if we seek to truly follow Christ, it is inevitable that we will find ourselves surrounded by the storm.  Think of how the disciples found themselves in stormy weather as the rowed across the sea.  When we let Jesus guide us, the path He sets out for us will take us through storms.

Jesus told a parable that went like this: ”Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.  But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” {Matthew 7:24-28}

Perhaps he just speaking about life generally.  But, I think there is something to it for us.  If we follow Him, if we say that we want to pursue God and a life of holiness, we must build it upon Christ’s words.  The word that tells us to follow Him we must bear our own cross, drink from His cup, partake in His suffering.  It seems that the longer I live out my Christian life, that most happiness is fleating and joy is all that is left.  Its not a happy thing to have the storm blast against your house, but when you can walk out when its done and see your house still standing…there’s some joy in that.

So, though sometimes we just get caught in the storm, sometimes we really do drive into them.  Joyfully even.  And, there is hope insofar that in our reckless desire which takes us into the storms, Jesus had no problem walking or sleeping through the storms.  Its like Jesus is telling us not to worry so much that we don’t enjoy what beauty we can find in the storm.