October 1, 2026
Just as we arrived home from vacation last week, we had a horrible, unexpected storm. It seemed to come out of nowhere. Wayne and I both have the weather app on our phones but there was no warning or alert for this storm.
When I say it was bad, it was very bad. The wind was blowing so hard at one point we thought it might snap the tree in our front yard. The poor thing was bent all the way over from the force of the wind. The rain was torrential. It was one of those rains where it changes directions constantly so you would hear it beat against the front of the house and a few minutes later it was beating on the windows on the side of the house. It was raining so very hard that it almost looked like there was a thick fog outside and you could not see anything.
Thankfully we were all at home. However, that meant that one of our granddaughters who is deathly afraid of storms was home and within the first few minutes of the storm she was a wreck. I thought she might hyperventilate. She was worried we were in a tornado. We had to move her away from the windows and try to occupy her with other things.
When the storm finally subsided and we could look outside it was a crazy scene. There was debris everywhere. The wind had severed leaves from all the trees and they were scattered everywhere. There was pine straw blown all around the yard and into the street. There were small limbs, large limbs, and even a couple of small trees were down.
Everything on our back screened in porch was soaked to the point there were puddles sitting on top of the chair cushions. It was quite a mess, and to Wayne who does the yard work, it seemed to be even a bigger mess especially since he normally has to accomplish the yard work in sections because of the problem with his feet.
As I thought back on the storm and looked at the damage I realized how similar it was to the storms in my life. Doesn’t it seem like most storms just come up without warning? Whether it’s a financial problem, a child issue, a sickness, or basically anything that we consider a storm, they don’t normally warn us before they hit us!
Personal life storms just come without an alert or a warning just like the actual storm that happened at my house. Usually, a personal storm leaves a trail of damage just like a physical storm. Sometimes it’s bills that you were not expecting and can’t pay, at times it’s a sickness that may or may not have a cure and if it does have a cure it could take lots of medicine, therapy, etc., or sometimes it’s a relationship that has crumbled and can’t be fixed. There are battle scars and wounds and honestly, usually a mess to clean up after a personal storm just like the mess of the physical storm.
When you are in the storms of life you feel like pieces of your heart are being ripped out (just like the leaves), blown in every direction (just like the wind), battered by life from all sides (just like the rain) and sometimes soaked with the tears you shed (just like puddles of rain). Storms are just a part of life, whether physical or personal. And yes, the personal ones happen to everyone – even believers.
There is a difference, though. You see, the debris and mess from the physical storm we can clean up by ourselves. Will it take time? Of course it will! Can we pick up sticks, rake leaves, and dry the furniture off? Absolutely!
When I am in a personal storm do I have to navigate and walk through that storm by myself? Definitely not! I know that I serve a God that can come alongside to “pick me up, dry me off, and walk with me” through the personal storms I go through. When I feel like I am in the storm I know I am not alone!
Believe me when I say I have been through more personal storms then I care to count. However, I have come out on the other side – not because of anything I have done but because I trust the One who can carry me through. I wish I could say I don’t let the storms freak me out and hyperventilate like my granddaughter, but I do. If I’m going to be honest, I think my first reaction is to panic. Then, just like the instructions given to our granddaughter, I have to move away from the panic, and occupy my mind, and remember!
I remember how God has walked me through many storms and how He never leaves or forsakes me. I remember He loves me so much. I remember there is not a mess that is too big for God. I remember He and only He can calm the storm.
One of my favorite songs has a line that says “Even though I’m in the storm, the storm is not in me.” Even in the storm, I am His! Life is not easy and we all have different things we are going through. I want to encourage you to look at the storms as allowing you to trust God more and as an opportunity to strengthen your faith. Occupy your mind with the times God has brought you through previous storms.
Wayne and others worked hard to clean up the mess from the storm. Afterward, it didn’t look as though my trees were missing any of those leaves that blew off or limbs that had snapped off in the storm. The yard and trees looked nice and green and basically like nothing had ever happened.
It made me wonder if maybe, just maybe, God has to take those dead limbs, sticks, and unneeded leaves and blow them off of us in the storm so that we can continue to serve Him unhindered by the things we don’t really need. And if that’s the case I’m okay with the storms. What about you?
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Jill Johnson, a staff member at the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, finds spiritual applications in her everyday experiences as a wife, mother, grandmother and Georgian. She is available to speak to your church's women's gatherings. Reach her at jjohnson@gabaptist.org.
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