The Weather Outside is Like Life...Always Changing

Sunday

Tuesday

For those of you not familiar with living in the ever-changing and beautiful Upstate New York, on the border of Lake Ontario...let me share.  Take this morning for instance, I let the dog out at 6 a.m. to go to the bathroom, no snow. An hour later and I let her out and the wind is blowing around these white crystals known as "pennies from heaven" to the snow plow drivers.  

​The weather men have predicted an intense Lake Effect Winter Storm for a couple days. Some live by the warnings and others, make sure there's enough essentials just in case but continue with life as usual. Then the storm hits. The ones in a panic are the ones not prepared. Instead of taking five minutes to stop for milk and bread, they go home so because they can get it tomorrow. But what if by tomorrow morning, the weather teams are correct and you are stuck home?

Which are you? The one who takes the extra few minutes to pick up an extra gallon of milk or do you take the chance and continue with life as normal? If you always stop and over prepare, is this because you didn't once or is this just the way you are wired? Regardless of which personality you are, this scenario relates to life. 

On one hand, we don't have a meteorologist preparing us for tomorrow's celebrations, challenges, or tragedies BUT we do have a God offering us the tools, strategies, and truths to help, if not save us when these times come.

Some of life's storms come at us after a warning.  Some warnings give us time to think and act to change the outcome while others are spiraling out of our control and all we can do is pray and watch it unfold, preparing for the end of this particular situation. Then there are the times, like my sister's kidnapping, when life changes without warning and knocks us off our feet.

Like New York, storms will come. You might have a warning and other times, it's storming before you can get the milk. In life, you will have warnings to prepare you and possibly offer the opportunity to change an outcome. Then there are the moments that we must trust God to hold and carry us through, because nothing could prepare you for this unexpected trial. BUT, if you have faith and a relationship with Jesus...you'll have the supplies necessary to survive.

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When the upright need help
and cry to the Eternal,
He hears their cries
    and rescues them
​from all of their troubles."
Psalm 34:17 VOICE

Warning...a storm is coming. Are you prepared?