Hope is Hard :: Joy Comes

Yesterday I experienced my first big West Texas storm. Winds reaching 60-65 mph, rain, and hail rolled through our yards, neighborhoods, and little town. Our home is situated south of our city in the flatlands between two plateaus. Evidently, it’s not that uncommon in the spring for tornadoes and high winds to gust through.

As day turned to night, I stood in our backyard surrounded by a beautiful sky full of lightening, swooning over its grandness before the rain and winds came. My family thought I had lost my mind, standing in the darkness waiting for the storm. But I stood amazed with windblown hair and eyes on the sky.

Isn’t it crazy how something so beautiful can also be so damaging? 

The clouds rolled closer and as a gust of wind came and the rain started pelting, I took shelter inside.

Just as quickly as the storms came, they left.

This morning we woke up to a beautiful blue sky full of the fluffiest white clouds. The grass and newly budding trees appeared extra green. No damage was done to our home, but I’m hearing scuttle about a few cars damaged from hail and a few trampolines escaping yards and landing in others.

Isn’t that a lot like life?

Storms come, storms go. Sometimes they leave their mark, sometimes we go unscathed. But when the morning comes, the grass usually appears greener, the sky bluer, the air extra crisp. 

As I sit here reflecting on the storm and the beauty of a spring day, I am reminded of Lamentations 3. If you know me well, you know this passage is never far from my heart or mind. I love how the beginning of the chapter starts with a storm, with affliction, but we see a man who proclaims God’s faithfulness in the storm. 

Talking about affliction the writer says:

“My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in Him.’” 

And then Psalms 30 says this,

 “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”

You see, I think I’m drawn to watching storms roll in and out for a reason. Like the man in Lamentations 3, I too have seen affliction. I have walked (more like limped) through life’s storms. I know what it is to be damaged by winds, by the hail that life throws at us. But when the morning came, the damage was still there, but so was our God’s faithfulness. So even in the face of oncoming storms I stand in darkness proclaiming, “The Lord is my portion, therefore I will hope in Him.” Let come what may, but my feet are rooted, arms raised in praise, ready to boast in a faithful God amidst the storm.

Today, you might be in the middle of a storm. Wind and hail might be pelting your soul. My friend, hold fast to hope. His mercies are new every morning. Storms come and they go, but the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever.

Your morning will come.

This storm will pass.

And in the light of a new day, even if trees are uprooted and trampolines are moved, the grass will appear a bit greener and the sky a bit bluer.

Cheering you on,
Brittany