Weathering the Storm

 We all face storms in our lives.

I have certainly had my share.

My childhood.

A marriage to a narcissist.

Overcoming addiction.

Watching my daughter struggle with addiction for eight years and then losing her.

The many losses that followed.

And now, my health challenges.

Each storm has asked something different of me.

And each time, somehow, I have found the courage to face it.

Not because I was never afraid.

Not because I always knew what to do.

And certainly not because it was easy.

I simply kept going.

There were times when I wanted to give up.

Times when the storm felt bigger than anything I could possibly handle.

But I learned that I don’t have to know how the storm will end.

I only have to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

The one thing I cannot do is give up.

I think of the words from A Course in Miracles:

“All things are lessons God would have me learn.”

I don’t always understand the lesson while I’m living it.

Sometimes I question why I am being asked to walk through yet another storm.

But perhaps I don’t have to understand everything.

Maybe my job is simply to stay open.

To listen.

To learn.

To trust.

Every storm has changed me.

Some have broken my heart.

Some have humbled me.

Some have shown me strength I didn’t know I had.

And perhaps this storm will teach me something too.

I don’t know what is waiting for me on the other side.

But I know this:

I’ve weathered storms before.

And I am still here.

So I will keep walking.

Keep trusting.

Keep learning.

And when the next storm comes, I will remind myself—

I have survived every storm I’ve faced so far.

And I can learn from this one too.