The Calm After the Storm

So I know that the phrase is actually the calm before the storm, but for me today it was the calm after the storm.

A line of severe thunderstorms crossed the state of North Carolina this afternoon.  The squall line spurred some thunderstorms and several tornado warnings.   Just a few minutes after my phone beeped and the warning flashed on my phone, I noticed that the light rain that had been coming down was getting harder and the sky was getting much darker.  And the wind.  Oh the wind,  it was blowing.   It was blowing.  HARD.

Just as I was turning off the TV (I was a little upset with the outcome of the Tarheel's basketball game), my phone beeped again.  And another tornado warning popped up.   That made me rethink where I was sitting so I made my way to the hall bath with my phone and computer to try to figure out where the storm was.

That is when I heard the wind begin to howl and the rain appeared to be coming down sideways.

So I just waited for it to pass.  And it did.  As quickly as the storm came, it was gone.   And then there was calm.

I turned the TV back on and the local news station had interrupted the regularly scheduled programming and was talking about the storms.   I noticed that it appeared that the highest threat was over (at least in my area) so I decided to take advantage of the calmer weather to step outside to check my surroundings.

Car in one piece? Check.  Front of house okay? Check.  Christmas garland that was once around the garage doors?   Still there, but on the ground.  At least it will be easy to put it away tomorrow.   Walked out back.  Anything on the roof?  Nope.  Everything still there? Yep.  

As I turned to go back in, I noticed that it was quiet, the sky was clearing and the sun was even trying to come out.

The storm was gone.  The calm had arrived.   What a difference a few minutes made.

In life,  storms come and go.  So come up very quickly with no notice.  Some sit and brew for days. Some stall out and hang out for quite a while.  But there is always an aftermath.

I have felt like I have been dealing with the aftermath of a storm in my life for quite some time now.   And I see the clouds breaking up and I can almost see the sun.

First the sun and then the rainbow.  I haven't seen either one yet.  But I know they are coming.  I can sense that the calm after the storm is here.  I just have to keep waiting for the sun to come out.  But I do know that there is a rainbow out there.   A promise from God that everything is going to be okay.