Seasons: Sunshine, Sprinkles, Showers and Storms

Check out Matthew 8:23-27: Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

Truth is I love a good quote, slogan or motivational thought. I love them in front of me. I copy and paste them, print them off and put them in frames. If you have been in my home office, you know that I write them, and scriptures, on 3×5 cards, to stick and pin them so I can see them. My white board is covered with the same. I love to share them with others, in hopes that they will like them too! These things inspire me and help keep me positive and focused on truth.

In our little powder bathroom, I have 2 of those stick-on-the-wall clingy things.  One says:

The one that gets the most attention is the one that talks about learning to dance in the rain. My daughter’s friend who is a boy (smile), has to face it each time, well almost each time, he visits our little powder room. Almost every time he comes out, he will declare with a big smile, “life isn’t about waiting for the storms to pass…” then he and my daughter will say in unison, “it’s about learning to dance in the rain!” We all laugh, then I roll my eyes and just smile.

Anyway, was sitting on my swing this morning and was thinking about life and the seasons I find myself. Thought about the seasons of the Midwest. Summer, Spring, Fall and Winter. I love the seasons of the Midwest. I love how they change and are different. I reflected on the positives and negatives in all of them…the Midwest seasons and then connected them to “My Life” seasons.

Who doesn’t love a bright sunshiny day? When I wake up and the sun is shining, I am like “yes, the sun is shining” which helps to put a smile on my face and helps my overall outlook. In the Midwest, the sunshine is necessary for so many things. One is growth. Growth is good.

When I wake up and there is some gloom in the air with sprinkles or showers, my mood seems to match the gloom and the smile is harder to find. Why is that? Sprinkles and showers are needed too…not just sunshine. Good things happen, in the Midwest, when sprinkles and showers come. The sprinkles and showers, are necessary for many things. One is growth. And, growth is good.

Have you every awakened in the middle of the night to thunder popping, lightening flashing, hail pounding storms? I have. These kinds of storms make things happen in my body…first my heart races, my breathing quickens, then I wake up, my eyes squint, my body tenses up, my fear-meter goes up and I then, I say to myself, “crap, is this storm going to make our electricity go off?” Then, once it’s storming for a while, I get ticked because I just want to go back to sleep but I am so focused on the storm that I can’t.

Storms. Some storms are short lived, yet others feel like they are eternal. What do you think? Do you think storms have purpose, in the Midwest (or wherever you live), like sunshine, sprinkles and showers? I pondered that this morning. At first, I thought, I’m not sure that I do. I feel like they are destructive, damaging and can leave a trail of mess behind. Therefore, I concluded that is not really purposeful in my book.

But wait…what if in the storm, there is growth? And since growth is good and necessary for abundance and fulfilled living, then why wouldn’t there be purpose in a storm? What if the growth that a storm produces isn’t like what is produced by the sunshine, sprinkles or showers? What if the necessary growth is only able to come about through a storm…whether short lived or raging? What if the storm has come (actually allowed by the hand of the Almighty God) for me…for me to grow…for me to learn to dance in it? That would be purpose. That would be good. That could be growth…which is necessary to get me where God needs me to be for HIS purposes for my life.

So many random thoughts and questions as I think about sunshine, showers, sprinkles and storms in relation to my life.

Why is it that in the beauty of the sunshine and the refreshment of the sprinkles I have a hopeful outlook? I feel like I can conquer the world, kick butt and take names haha, have peace and will live an abundant life doing more than I could ever think or imagine. But then, just like the seasons of the Midwest change, so the seasons of My Life do…the showers pop up, the storms begin and the gloom sets in. It’s here that I can quickly lose hope; my joy is sucked right out of me and I realize I don’t want “to play” anymore. I begin to doubt everything…I become like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed about. Unstable and insecure and heart racing…right where the enemy of my soul wants me to be and to stay. Hopelessness.

BUT GOD…but God…I find myself saying and reminding myself of these 2 power words in the storms and even in the showers. I find my hope (when I finally have a moment of clarity—smile) and a sense of motivation and inspiration in these 2 words…BUT GOD…

Ephesians 2:4-6: says: But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…

Then I am reminded of the many references to storms in the bible. My perspective is shifting as I write this. I think I believe My Life storms will always have purpose…when I look at it from God’s perspective. Storms can make me or break me…they will make me or break me. Storms can crush or drown me OR they can strengthen and grow me and my faith in the One who holds the world in his hands. And the HE who is stronger than he who is in this world that would like to destroy me.

So  what’s the point to this rambling? Guess I realize that whether I am experiencing sunshine, sprinkles, showers or storms, God is still God. He is really sovereign and I am powerless. He has plans and purposes for me and others and those won’t be hindered. He will be faithful to me, forgive me and forever love me. He will grow me, shape me and transform me…my job is to surrender and trust Him with my life. You know what, I may just want to thank Him while I’m waiting for the storm to pass…or maybe I might try to dance in it…truth is, I’m not ready to dance…BUT…I do trust Him and am OK knowing I will be dancing soon.