The storm raged. But we were safe.

The wind howled, and the rafters creaked.

Rain slammed down.

Waves swelled, crashing over rocks and against the bluffs.

But Don and I sat in front of a fire and watched the tempest outside.

Storms are Universal

Storms are a part of our lives, in one way or another. Illness, loss, divorce, political disagreements, family dysfunction or incongruity.

Fires, drought, floods, famine, and for many, the struggle to survive.

Sometimes hope, fear and anxiety co-exist, as they must for people in the Philippines and Honduras, among others, who face devastating weather conditions right now.

Standing Through The Storms

As I watched the storm outside the windows, I saw plants standing up atop those rocks. They stood 12-18” tall. The waves crashed over those rocks, covering them completely with their great power. But when the water receded, the plants remained. How did they survive that onslaught?

They stood strong in the storm. How? They must have deep, strong roots going into cracks in the rocks.

(For more on this, see my article, What Storms Do You Face?)

I just read a book I highly recommend, A Fragile Hope, by Cynthia Ruchti. One quote will stay with me for a long time.

“How high are your storm surges? They don’t even reach the ankles of the One who walks on water for you.”

Roots for the Storms

We too need deep roots to withstand the pressures and storms we face. The Apostle Paul told us how when he wrote the following:

“And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts, living within you as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love; and may you be able to feel and understand, as all God’s children should, how long, how wide, how deep, and how high his love really is; and to experience this love for yourselves, though it is so great that you will never see the end of it or fully know or understand it. And so at last you will be filled up with God himself.”

—Philippians 3:17-19

If you’d like to explore further, see, “Strength in the Storm: Finding Hope in Times of Stress” on Reddit.