Thank You for the Storms

I was holding my newborn daughter as we felt the occasional raindrop hit our skin. She didn’t make a single peep after we walked out of the apartment. It was warm. Warm, damp, and intriguing.

Lightning pulsed through the cloudy sky as we watched, exposing towering silhouettes of palm trees all around.

storms

There have been many storms recently, but this is one we get to enjoy together, outside, in the dark.

We should have been inside — the sensible thing to do. Who would want to get all wet, anyway?

A man and his brand-new daughter, who apparently loves these kinds of experiences.

I wonder why we avoid and dislike storms so much. Storms are neutral. The ominous attributes we perceive are added by our minds.

Still, storms can cause quite a bit of damage, leaving us much worse than before.

But only if you see it that way.

It seems we could perceive them differently. What if we grew eager to see storms headed our way, knowing that destruction yields change which yields new life?

It’s too bad all we tend to see is an impending crisis.

We forget growth can be a significant by-product of storms.

God, thank you for the storms.


When was the last time you just stood in the rain, or fully experienced a storm?