The Calm AFTER Every Storm

Living on the Outer Banks, I'm no stranger to storms! We've all heard the old cliché, the calm before the storm. Supposedly the original expression, ‘Calm continueth not long without a storm’, dates back to the 1500’s, though nobody knows exactly how it was said. But what about the calm AFTER the storm? It seems to me that many people, especially myself, spend so much time worrying about the path the storm will take and the devastation it will cause. We anxiously spend our time in useless preparations trying to prevent something over which we have absolutely zero control. We fret, we worry, we wait. In the end, we must acknowledge that our actions could not have possibly affected the outcome of these storms. The reality is that the storm, it’s path, its causes, its effects are all controlled by someone far greater than us.

In life, as on the coast, storms will come and go; and when they are gone, we all must stand back to take stock of the devastation left behind. There are times when we can breathe a sigh of relief and gratitude that our lives were left unscathed. And there are those other times, when we are shaken to our core, and we must find the strength to pick up the pieces and rebuild. Regardless of the aftermath, I know at times I find it easy to overlook a very important gift that each storm gives us – the ability to persevere. There is a natural tendency to spend our time worrying about what ifs and what could have beens. It is much easier to focus on the negative, instead of looking forward and embracing our own strength during times of adversity. During these times it is important to choose to remember, that there is calm after the storm as well. Often, hidden blessings are revealed to us during this calm and it is to this that we must look.

These pictures were taken in September 2008 just after Tropical Storm Hanna passed over the Outer Banks. They are a reminder to me that no matter what storms persist, that there will indeed be a calm after the storm. Obviously, my life has been stormy during this past year but as Randy Pausch says in his book The Last Lecture, “Brick walls are there for a reason. They give us a chance to show how badly we want something.” Brick walls are a lot like storms. These storms help us come to previously unknown realizations, about ourselves, our lives. So with my eyes on the horizon, I choose to look forward and watch for my hidden blessings to reveal themselves to me. And no matter the outcome, I know that I have been blessed.

S.