How to feel peaceful in the midst of a storm

Feel Peaceful? Undeniably in the United States in the last few months, we have been hit by horrendous storms. Winds, tornadoes, and flooding have devastated many  areas and it is hard to look at this kind of trouble and find your way out.

The Storms of Life

In the past few years, many more people than the norm have experienced other kinds of storms in their lives. The financial and job hits that many people have taken have shook many people to the core. I was reading “Your Money Counts” by Howard Dayton and he says:

A job loss, major illness, birth of a special-needs child, business reversal, death of a family member, identity theft, military deployment of a breadwinner, home foreclosure, bankruptcy, or worldwide financial crisis can exert major pressure on us and our finances. Surveys reveal that many marriages simply don’t survive the stress of these difficulties.

I call these challenges the “storms of life.” While some of the storms amount to little more than a blustery rain shower, others feel like a category-five hurricane.

I’ve weathered more than my share of storms in my life and find that though I might not have thought so at the time, all of it was leading to who I have become today. I don’t hide my age. I’ll be 55 this summer. I find that I relate as well to 20 year olds as 60 year olds and beyond. Youth challenges me and the wisdom of people who have lived longer blesses me.

Prepare for storms

However, I do think that we need to prepare for storms. Suddenly the words, “Balanced budgets” mean something to me and I am getting concepts that I wish I had understood at 20.

“Debt-free living” has suddenly become clear to me and I am taking that balanced budget and coupling it with a plan to lower my debts rapidly. The financial crises of our last few years have made me realize how we can’t rely on same-old and trust it will all work out. We have to take action.

If you are still employed, I think it is time to think about all of this. Put your financial house in order. You will be surprised how much better you feel with less debt, emergency funds, and a plan. Make sure you understand what you need to prepare if you would have to change positions.

If you are not employed, it is not too late. Just take it one day at a time. The storm will pass.

Send the storm

I’ll leave you with the words to a song by my friend, Michael Schroeder. This song is still hanging in my other office downstairs. Through the years, clients who read it identified with the words which talk about how storms make you stronger. I think we can all use this reminder.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

I once was, in my world, a king,
reaping the joy of all my blessings.
I lived life to the fullest each day
forgetting Who put it in place.

Life was good, and the livin’ so easy
That I’d forget how much you mean to me, so

Chorus:
Send the storm, Lord, so that I may fall
back into your waiting arms.
For when I’m weak, then I am strong,
So I will reach for you – send the storm.

I was caught up by the world and its plans,
who let me believe that I was the man,
Slowly trusting myself, with a faith in my ways,
forgetting You put it in place.

Life was good, when things went my way,
That I’d forget I needed You to be saved, so

Chorus:
Send the storm, Lord, so that I may fall
back into your waiting arms.
For when I’m weak, then I am strong,
So I will reach for you – send the storm.

Drifting on this ocean alone,
I needed you to bring me home.

Chorus:
Send the storm, Lord, so that I may fall
back into your waiting arms.
For when I’m weak, then I am strong,
So I will reach for you – send the storm.
So I won’t lose you – send the storm.