Three Life Lessons I Learned From A Thunderstorm

After The Storm, The Sun Will Shine Again

If you are in Atlanta, you know that baby the rain came pouring down last week. Not only was the rain coming down, the gusts of wind was insane. I woke up to seeing my patio furniture drenched and pillows on the ground. After it rained for a good seven hours, I looked out my window, and saw the glimpse of the sun beaming in through the clouds. I instantly felt God give me a revelation: Storms are going to come. They are going to shake up your life, but after every storm, the sun will shine. This revelation hit me in a way that I knew could only be from God. We have to be able to stand on Faith, knowing that in the midst of the storm, the sun will shine again. Something about watching the rain hitting my window turn into sunlight shinning thru was the greatest feeling. I immediately grabbed my journal and began to write. Today, I want to share with you three life lessons I learned from watching a thunderstorm.

Maybe you’re like me, and when you wake up and see rain, you instantly get annoyed. Something about knowing that it’s a rainy day, throws off my routine and makes me want to do nothing except sit in my bed and watch TV. It’s always a struggle for me to push myself to be productive on rainy days. I could have plans booked in advance, but if I wake up and it’s raining, I’ll change the whole schedule. The first lesson this thunderstorm taught me was that rain is inconvenient, and it does throw off routines, but it doesn’t last forever. The problem is, many of us, me included, treat the rainy seasons like they’re going to last forever. Let me give you an example; The day it rained for seven hours, I actually had plans to have my friend come over and catch up out on the patio. However, when I woke up that morning and saw the rain, I instantly texted my friend to reschedule, (it was only 6:30am, we were supposed to get together at 8pm.) The problem with changing your entire schedule when you see rain, is the fact that it does not always last all day. By the time I realized the rain had stopped at noon, I had already made my mind up that I was no longer connecting with my friend. I missed out on a night that would’ve been filled with laughter, because I mentally prepared the storm would last all day. Now when it comes to the stormy seasons in our life, we have to know that it’s just a season and focus on how we will be when it’s over. Please don’t think I’m saying to ignore your emotions in times of hardships. I’m simply saying, when things get hard and life seems like you’re in a storm, don’t sit and soak, focus on the story you will tell when it’s over. I watched Hey You with Sarah Jakes Roberts and she shared, “God I don’t know how you’re going to do it, but I come into agreement with what the story’s going to be. Your story is going to come out better than you think. You have to testify about the story you’re going to tell about this season of your life in the future. If you activate it in your heart, it’ll change the way you talk, it’ll change the way you walk. It’ll change the way you see God. Start living out what God has already spoken about your life, despite how you feel right now. Speak it into the atmosphere the story you’ll tell when it’s over, even if you can't see any evidence.” When we’re in times of trials, it’s so important to speak about what we want the other side to look like. Don’t allow your current circumstances to get in the way of what you know God will do. Don’t stop living when you’re in a stormy season.

The second lesson this thunderstorm taught me, is that you won’t always know when a storm is coming. I love checking the weather app, but it’s not always 100% accurate. It’s been plenty of times that the forecast would show clear skies, but out of nowhere, an overcast comes and it’s pouring down. This is true with life. Sometimes, we know and can feel when things are about to get shift. Whether that’s with intuition or a new season we actually sat and prepared for. It could be a new job, a new baby, or a new season of marriage, there are seasons when we know life as we knew it would change. However, there are times when life throws us a curveball, that feels like it came from nowhere . Whether you lose your job, someone passes away, or a sudden illness comes about; it’s times when life changes suddenly and without warnings. Change is hard whether it’s expected or not, but it’s inevitable. Most of you know, I’ve struggled with control issues that I’ve been working on in therapy so this reality is hard for me to grasp. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring, no matter how hard you plan. Your foundation has to be rooted in truth, for me, that’s Jesus. Whatever foundation you decide to stand on, must support you in times when your life is shaken up. When you’re in an unexpected storm, you can’t stand on things that won’t support you. When change comes and disrupts your routine, it’s ok to stop, pause and start back. The faster you realize life is full of ebbs and flows, the faster you’ll be able to have peace in a storm. This also means you can’t make things or people your idol or god; Whether that’s money, a career, a relationship, etc. You could lose everything tomorrow, so get a strong foundation in something.