We had a mighty wind storm over the weekend. The palm trees outside my window were bent all the way to 10 o’clock, and at times, I thought they might snap off! Rain fell in buckets, too, but it was the wind that was particularly remarkable – and made me think of this blog’s subject.

There are many times when we feel as if there’s a storm raging all around us. Perhaps family or work situations are in bad shape, or the physicality of living with a chronic illness has been so exhausting that daily living seems like a big battle. We might want to retreat at such times, curl up and close our eyes and wait for the storm to pass. And yet, one of the most helpful things we can do – something that I do – is to realize exactly what is happening, to watch the storm unfold, do what I must do about it, but all throughout, keep in touch with the calm, peaceful center within me that is keeping me completely safe, enveloped in God’s care and love.

To get wrapped up in fear means that we don’t have much room in our thoughts and feelings for allowing God’s compassion to touch us. But with one eye on the storm and our hearts fixed on God’s love within, all the bluster in the world won’t roil us – and it, like all of life’s many storms, will eventually pass by.