The Storm

Last week I drove down to Fort Smith to visit my parents and turned on a Moral Revolution podcast from Bethel church. The sermon was Moving Toward Greatness and in the middle, he starts talking about going through a storm in life and God using trials to make us stronger.  He talked about how important it is to surround ourselves with people who will encourage us to stick it out when things get tough.  Little did I know this was foreshadowing what would happen in about 30 minutes.

I'm driving along the highway with my 3 month old daughter, when all of the sudden it started raining pretty hard.  Within half a mile, I was right in the middle of a very intense storm complete with hail, strong winds and lightning.  I could see the tunnel up ahead and was relieved to have a break from the weather.  Everyone inside started pulling over to the side to wait it out and as I sat there, Cora began to cry.  Knowing I couldn't do anything for her, I started to cry too.  The tunnel started filling up completely with cars and that's when the anxiety really kicked in.

I was reminded of the sermon I was listening to and immediately knew I needed to call my friend Stephanie.  Through my tears, I told her what was going on and how scared I was to get out of the safety of the tunnel.  She was just what I needed at that moment, a calm presence in the middle of a bunch of crazy.  God used her to give me the courage to put my car in drive and keep going.  Before I left, I prayed, "God please take this storm away so I can go!"  He said, "No, I won't, but I'll be there with you through it.  Trust me."

So I did.

Can I tell you, I had church in my car.  Like straight up church.

As soon as my wheels started rolling, my mouth started praying in the Spirit.  Every 100 ft or so, God would bring a scripture to mind and so I spoke it out loud.  Each piece of truth from God's word shattered part of my wall of fear.  As I spoke in tongues and prayed the word, I relaxed despite the cracks of thunder and lightning bolts on either side of me.  The wind was shaking my car but my spirit was as calm as a pool of water.  After about 30 minutes of this, I noticed a light in the distance and began to laugh.  I was on my way to clear skies!!

Through this storm, God physically showed me what to do when I have a figurative storm in my life.  The Bible is called the Sword of the Spirit for a reason; it is to be used to fight against our enemy.  That is why I believe it's so important to memorize scripture that speaks to our struggles.  We can have that "sword" constantly ready to pull out when we go through a hard time.

Be intentional about your relationships.  Be real with the people you have in your life so they can help push you toward greatness.  If you don't have anyone in you life like that, begin praying for them today.  God created us to live in community with each other, not in isolation.  Isolation is a very dangerous place to be, in my opinion.

Thank you, friends, that are there to walk with me through my storms.  I love every single one of you.

Monica