Living in Charleston has its highs and lows.
The highs are obvious to everyone. The beaches, the architecture, the charming people, the southern hospitality, the marshes, the boats, the shopping and the history: all reasons CHS has been voted America’s best city for 12 years in a row!
The lows, however, are less obvious to a tourist’s eye. Locals know that it’s not all palm trees and rainbow row! The traffic is insane, making long commutes even longer. And the weather, while glorious, is completely unpredictable and impossible to plan for.
There are also hurricanes.
This week I’ve been stuck inside thanks to Hurricane Debby making her appearance in the Lowcountry. It hasn’t been too bad where I live, but it’s pretty much constantly raining. Rainy day after rainy day has led me to feel slightly stir crazy.
I miss the sunshine! I miss sitting on my front porch! I want to go to the beach and savor the last few weeks of my last summer vacation ever!
Then I remember it’s only been 3 and a half days. I look outside and see the first bit of blue sky I’ve seen since the weekend. I know that no matter how bad the hurricane or tropical storm, it won’t, it can’t, last forever.
it’s kind of like life
We go through seasons that feel like hurricanes. Rainy day after rainy day. Seemingly no sunshine in sight. Sometimes it can be hard to believe that there will be a time when you’ll feel better.
But you will.
Does that mean God will fix everything the way you want Him to? Not necessarily. Does it mean that you won’t ever feel sad or anxious again? Not here on earth.
It means that God will bring the sunshine and blue skies back into your life- in a million different ways. He’ll make the broken beautiful again because that’s what He does. In the meantime, if you take a minute to look around I guarantee you’ll see He’s already given the dark clouds a silver lining.
speaking of the meantime
What are you supposed to do while we wait for rainy days to end? You might know without a shadow of a doubt that one day you’ll see the sun again, but it doesn’t make standing in the storm any easier.
I won’t pretend to have all the answers, but in my experience walking in the rain is a lot better than standing in it. To save myself from cabin fever this week, I’ve started taking walks even if it’s raining. By the end, my natural curls are popping out and I’m soaking wet, but it always feels good to get outside and get my body moving. It’s refreshing to feel the rain on my face where I normally feel the scorching sun.
When I get in from my walk, I’ll put on cozier (drier) clothes, eat dinner and watch TV with my family. I’ll go to sleep listening to the sound of the rain hitting the roof, thankful I’m safe in my house, knowing that it’ll be sunnier next week.
I like to think that’s similar to what we should be doing when we feel like we’re going through a stormy season in life. Walk in the rain. Dance on the waves. Savor the little happy moments and outcomes that this unique (maybe uninvited) season has brought you. There may be strong winds and strong rains, but they’ve got nothing on a child of the God that’s infinitely stronger.
As you walk, you’ll start to see the blue sky more and more. The sunshine will start to peek through the clouds and replace the raindrops once falling on your face. You’ll look back, see how far you’ve come and find you’re closer to Jesus.
Because walking is so much better than standing still. Even in the rain.
A note: When I starting writing this I had just come inside from a walk in the pouring rain. Now just a half hour later, I see nothing but blue skies out the window. Sunshine always come back!!