I had a very surreal experience flying back to Connecticut from Dallas a few weekends ago. It’s almost a 4 hour flight and I was getting restless. The in-flight movie was a dud. The ipod wasn’t keeping me interested. And I couldn’t get comfortable enough to sleep longer than 20 minutes. I did have a great book, but it was the last hour of the flight and there really wasn’t anything that could hold my attention at this point.
Until… I looked out the window.
I always sit at the window when flying. I like having the wall to lean on and I like having a view (not to mention control of the window shade). I’ve seen fireworks happening while on a late night flight a few years ago. I’ve seen priceless views of land and water. And flying through giant cotton ball type of clouds is still pretty cool to witness. But this particular view was a first for me while flying.
The captain came on the intercom to announce that he was going to have to take another route in order to miss a mega storm system that was hitting Connecticut pretty bad. The next half hour or so, was amazing to witness. As many times as I’ve seen lightening, I’ve never watched it’s amazement while looking down upon it. Flying on top of, and around a storm was incredible. You could easily see beautiful blue sky on one side, and dark, ominous clouds with sheets of rain and lightening on the other. And those of us on flight 342 were somewhere in between the two.
I had an epiphany at that moment.
Most of us are usually in between serenity and a storm on any given day/week/month/year. We prefer the clear blue sky, but the storms come without much warning, and are inevitable. Our pilot had received a head’s up from air traffic control that we were approaching a pretty bad storm that might make for complications with our flight. So, he was able to bypass the problem area. However, in real life, we aren’t always able to take such a detour. I started thinking about how bad the rain, wind, thunder and lightening was to those on the ground. (If I could see a wall of rain from where I was in the sky, I could imagine how yuck it must have been for those actually having to drive through it, etc.) But, I was in the fortunate position of being able to see the other side of the storm. I could see that it would pass soon enough, and just on the other side of it was serenity again. It truly was an odd experience to be able to see both (the crazy and the calm) at the same time.
It made me think about how the storms in my life eventually came to an end, and though I felt like the rain lasted forever, looking back, all I remember is that we got through it. Sometimes the storm lasted a week, sometimes it lasted a year (or more). But as quickly as time goes by, in the grand scheme of things, the storm was only a chapter…. not the whole story.
I bet if our plane had been forced to fly through the big, bad storm it would have been a very nerve-wrecking flight! Bumpy. Panic inducing. Worrisome. And if the turbulence was bad enough, we may be tempted to think we wouldn’t make it through!
I can think of a few (ok, many!) times in my 30 years that resemble that description.
But flying above the storm I could see that it would eventually be over. I was reminded that the rain does eventually stop. And the lightening, though damaging in some cases, can also be beautiful when looked at from a different perspective. Serene, blue sky is always waiting on the other side.
Just another reason I love the window seat.
By Kasey Krawiec, aka: Ethan’s Mommy
ABOUT KASEY KRAWIEC
Kasey is a stay at home mom to her nearly 4 year old son, Ethan. At 11 weeks old, he was diagnosed with a rare form of infant leukemia. After many hospitalizations, treatments, and a bone marrow...
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That’s a great way to look at a storm…it’s easy to forget that trouble don’t last always – thanks for the reminder :)
I’m thrilled you were encouraged!
Really needed this reminder today – it won’t last forever!!! Thanks so much!
I often find myself repeating, “This too shall pass”….
Very cool. Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome! And thank YOU for the comment :)
Many, many times I wish I could fly above the storms of life & have clear vision of the outcome.
God puts storms in our life to awaken us to our constant need of Him and Prayer! Storms help strengthen us and give us a “podium” sort of to speak from and help others through similar storms!
Amen!! Well said!
WOW. Very well said. love your blogs also, very inspiring.
Thanks so much…. God has certainly proven His faithfulness in my life (and even more so in my adult life!) over an over.
“But as quickly as time goes by, in the grand scheme of things, the storm was only a chapter…. not the whole story.”
From a life that has had many, many storms, I loved this perspective.
When my son was diagnosed with leukemia at 11 weeks old and his treatments and all the “yuck” lasted day in/day out for more than a year, I often thought that that was all that there was going to be in our story and that it was essentially never going to end. Looking back now 3 years later (and having my son by my side as a living miracle), I can see that there was in fact MORE to the story…. that time in our lives just happened to be one of the “longer” chapters ;)
What a really wonderful perspective to have been given! Very encouraging–thank you!
Rich blessings, Kasey, as you seize each moment for its God made purposes and cling to His hope in them…
Thank you… I greatly appreciate such a beautifully written (and encouraging!) comment!
I loved this!! Perfect for my day……I shared this on my page to encourage other friends who are going through struggles as well. The song “I Will Praise You In This Storm” by Casting Crown came to mind as well. Thank You!!
I’m so glad it ministered to you!!
The Bible study I am in right now just looked at some passages in Isaiah, and the verse we all know and love, Is. 40:31 reminds me that we can fly above the storm, on eagles wings! He lifts us up!
Amen!! I sure wish I could always remember the strength we have access to in Him… that’s why I’m thankful for the unexpected ways that the Lord uses to remind us to trust Him :)
Our storm has continued for almost five years. My pastor says, “the last chapter has not been written.” I want that to be comforting, but sometimes it isn’t. Your words helped me picture this as God sees it…like you could see from the airplane. More than that, His hands are all over it and around it and around me as well.
Thanks!
I think so much of our lives would be easier to accept and endure if we could only see the situation as God sees it. We could then understand His purpose and how He’s using our trial for a greater good in our life or in the lives of others. I think we’d be a lot more “comforted” if we saw the whole picture from His perspective. However, life doesn’t work that way…. unfortunately. So I try to remind myself that His Word says, His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways and that He works all things together for good in our lives. Those verses remind me that even though I can’t see or understand His perspective, I do know that I can take Him at His Word and really trust that He hasn’t forgotten about what He’s working out in our lives. (But I know often times, it’s a battle to fight the lies and desperation satan tries to feed our hearts and minds). I will be praying for you to be able to move into the next chapter of your life and be able to look back at the last 5 years with peace and understanding.
Thanks for this piece. Thanks for sharing a bit of you here…really encouraging.
I’m so glad that you were encouraged!!
Thanks Kasey. I thank God with you for the miracle healing of little Etham. In all your messages, your faith can be felt and by it, even the deeply unbelieving must feel touched and ministered to.
I am still riding my storm and everyday, pray that God will make it a chapter in my family’s life – out elder son has never known happiness because of alcohol. We strongly believe that God loves him and will redeem him and allow him to enjoy the other side of life full of peace and joy. We love him nevertheless.
I know a mother’s heart is always concerned with the life of her children no matter if they’re an infant, preschooler, teenager or adult. I have friends who have desires of their hearts that haven’t been met in many, many years. And it can be difficult to find the hope that they need in order to keep the faith going one more day. In those moments, I’m reminded of a time during Ethan’s illness that nothing was going right and I was tired of living in a hospital two hours away from home. The doctors had come in with bad news and our conversation was so long that I had missed the breakfast cart that the hospital provided. All I could process was that my bad day was quickly getting worse and now I missed breakfast on top of that (sounds trite, but I just wanted something to go my way). Anyway, so I walked into the kitchen on the patient floor and there was a blueberry muffin. It was for anyone to take and prior to my walking into the kitchen all I could think about was how I wanted a blueberry muffin. And there it was. But it shouldn’t have been! Those muffins go fast and I was already an hour past the breakfast “rush”. I couldn’t believe it. I knew instantly that God left that blueberry muffin for me and it was His way of encouraging my heart. Reminding me that He hasn’t forgotten me. It didn’t change the bad news we were dealing with with my son’s cancer treatments at that time, but it gave me enough hope to spark my faith again that God was still with us and still working the details out in our lives. I pray you get your “blueberry muffin” today from the Lord.
Thank you Kasey for the encouragement here. I just wanted to update you that after that message and I believe your prayer, our son asked to be supported to go into rehab. That was immediately after my message and God being the merciful father that we all love and lean on, He quickly opened a door for a place at the first rehabilitation centre we contacted and our son was able to enter the institution on October 1. He has now done two months and so far, he is encouraged and looking forward to coming out a new person. Our prayer is that while there, the spirit of God would speak to him and convict him to accept the Lord Jesus Christ and his saviour. That would be wonderful, but small steps at a time, and we are making good progress. Thank you again for your encouragement.
“… and though I felt like the rain lasted forever, looking back, all I remember is that we got through it.” Well put, Kasey! As I look back at my storms that at the time seemed to be all-consuming, they really were just a chapter or perhaps even a page in my book of life. And God was always there to guide us to the next page or the next chapter–just look for the grace-note! A great reminder!
Great comment, thanks so much!!
WQW, well said!!!! What a GREAT perspective!! It’s awesome how God reveals Himself in nature, we just have to look for it. Thank you for sharing!! Your words are incredibly encouraging!! I should print it off and carry it around with me as a reminder during stormy times. Thank you for sharing your heart :)
I completely agree with you and I think God reveals Himself through His creations alot more than we might realize…
Great analogy! And the airplane? Always a great place to hear God speak.
Especially when there’s a wee bit more turbulence than you might care for ;)
Loved this Kasey!
Thanks so much for stoppin’ by!!
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