Why We Should Welcome Hard Times

Storms provide the United States over 50 percent of their rainfall, distributing water to plants, lakes, and reservoirs.

Winds from storms create life by distributing seeds and pollen while removing old and weak vegetation to make room for new growth.

When lightning strikes, it actually liberates nitrates that help fertilize the soil. Storm updrafts remove large amounts of pollution, while storm rainfall washes more pollution out of the air.

*Photo Credit: Brett Levin Photography, Creative Commons

Storms don’t just destroy. They heal. Maybe that’s why Louisa May Alcott, the author of “Little Women” once wrote, “I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.”

When it comes to the storms that threaten our lives, most of us find ourselves scurrying and scattering in desperate attempts to manage, control, reduce, and contain them rather than face them head on. Why? Because we sometimes forget to see how the storm is helping us “sail our ship” better.

But if nature is any example, even the most brutal storm is faithful to create some form of beauty in the midst of the chaos it first met us in. What if every failure, setback, and raging storm you’re facing is actually making you a better sailor, preparing you for deeper waters, bigger ships, and the fullness of life? And that’s not just a nice idea….it is the truth.

Every storm we face is an opportunity to be better and braver on the other side. (Tweet This)

It gives us an unfair advantage in our own story. The rocky marriage, the struggling writing career, the fight through our addiction or the battle through our low self-esteem has given us a strength we would never have acquired in sunny weather.

There is something about the worn face of someone who has been through many a storm.

With every line, crease, and scar there is also a confidence, peacefulness, and wisdom. It’s the kind of face you see in an experienced captain, a cancer survivor, or a victim of human injustice.

It’s the face none of us want if we were truly honest. But it’s the kind of face that gives hope, which encourages others, that stands on the other side of the shore and cries out, in between deep gasps of breath, “We made it!”

Whatever the trial is, freedom is around the bend.

Set sail. Welcome the storm. Be not afraid.

Why We Should Welcome Hard Times is a post from: Storyline Blog