One of my fondest memories growing up in the country were the thunderstorms. There could be some doozies. First came the stillness … no wind, no birds chirping or crickets singing … it was so deathly quiet the hairs on the back of your neck stood up. Yet, you could feel it in the air … a storm was coming.
Then the wind would begin to pick up and the dark clouds would roll in turning the day into night. My mom would call to us to help her take the laundry off the clothes line. Big fat drops of rain would start falling getting us the tad bit wet before we got into the comfort of the house. BOOM came the thunder … so loud you jumped right out of your skin. And finally, the lightening came so blindingly bright you saw stars afterwards.
When we had these types of storms, my Dad would sit on the carport and watch. I loved being there with him. For me, it was exciting to ride out the storm. For my Dad, I am sure he was thinking about the damage the storm would leave … would the garden be flooded out, would a tree limb fall onto the roof or one of the cars, how long would we be without power. Not so exciting for him. As the rains continued to come down fast and furious, the carport would begin to flood and the wind would be so strong you could hear the trees creaking. This was when my Dad would send me back inside to safety.
Do you ever feel as if you are going through too many thunderstorms in life? Some that will leave so much damage that you are not sure what to do?
I’ve had many storms in my life … some big and devastating; others small yet eventful. Storms, of any kind, feel chaotic and can have you fearing what will be left after the storm. This was true for my Dad. As he sat diligently keeping watch for what damage would be caused, he was wondering if we would survive this one and how would we make it if there was too much damage. For the storms in my life, I’ve wondered the same thing. Losing my loved one to death was the biggest storm I have had to suffer. And I made it through. I made it through with help from my family, friends and professionals. I made it through because I knew at the end of each storm that excited me when I was a child, there was always a beautiful rainbow in the skies afterwards.
Even today as the world is going through storms (literally and figuratively), I choose to see the hope of love and light in everyone. I choose to know that we will get through it. It will be better at the end. In the midst of any storm, there will be changes … changes that you can choose to allow to destroy you or changes that you can choose to ride it out … to see the rainbow … a promise of better times.
“Every great change is preceded by chaos.” Deepak Chopra
Denise Hansard is a former corporate pricing expert turned motivational speaker & life coach with a Masters in counseling who has coached hundreds of women to make 6 figures, find the love of their life and get super healthy. Author of the book Suffering in Comfort, she is an expert in transformation.