Hello hurricane, you're not enough

In tennis, players stand in a position with their knees bent and their tennis rackets in front of their stomachs--ready to jump left or right and to swing at a moment's notice.

Sometimes things come at us and we have to be ready too.

There will always be storms in life and there will always be surprises. No one is immune to the unexpected. Family emergencies, crisis, friendship struggles, periods of unemployment, natural disasters, heartbreaks, daily disasters and a myriad of other issues can strike us at anytime. These are hurricanes, with the potential and the power to break us down, despair us, shatter us.

But there is always the flip side of the coin. There is always grace. There is always Christ. And therefore, there is always beauty, love, light, truth, hope--even in the midst of trauma.

"Hello hurricane,
You're not enough.
Hello hurricane, you can't silence my love.
I've got doors and windows boarded up.
All your dead-end fury is not enough
You can't silence my love." (Switchfoot)

When I've faced personal crisis in the past, I've tried to focus on the words "Jesus, I trust in you." I've repeated them over and over until my heart can be steady, until the tears dry, until I can move forward again. I have to remind myself. We have to remind ourselves.

God never panics. God never leaves us. God always loves us. And He holds us in the palm of His hands.

When we're faced with uncertainties, roadblocks, suffering--we have the choice. We can't choose our situations but we can choose what we do about them. We can choose to board up our windows and focus on the one who is "strong enough to save" and choose hope and allow ourselves to be open to his grace and love Him in return. We can trust that Jesus rose from the dead, that he performs miracles, that he makes all things new. We can trust that "he makes beautiful things out of the dust."

Recently, God has knocked me down and humbled me when I least expected it. Curveballs have hit my smooth, familiar routine.

Today, I'm reminding myself that God is stronger than any storm, that He is always in the boat with me, and that His love sustains me and His grace truly is and always will be enough.