In Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, The Rainy Day, there is a line which says, “Into each life some rain must fall.” This has been one of my mottos for a long time because it has rained in my life. There have been deluges and drizzles; there have been thunderstorms and showers.
We know that rain isn’t always bad. Ask any farmer. Rain is necessary for growing our food. It is a very welcomed relief after a drought. Did you ever play in a summer shower as a kid? Remember splashing in puddles and running through raindrops? It was even better than the sprinkler! We appreciate these kinds of rain; but what about the storms?
We cannot always control the weather in our lives any more than we can control the actual weather. And just like the actual weather, storms happen, which on occasion could be quite devastating. But as we have learned to deal with the actual weather, we can learn to deal with our personal weather as well.
The first step in dealing with a storm is being prepared. In actual weather, we collect the proper gear to mitigate the effects of the storm. From umbrellas to emergency generators, we try to be prepared. We also take precautions, like closing windows, (especially in our cars!).
For our personal storms, the proper gear is in our minds. We must collect the thoughts necessary to effectively alleviate the impacts of a storm on our lives. We take the precaution of having a positive thought pattern ready to use before a storm hits. This positive pattern is developed by putting the proper constructive thoughts in our minds over and over until they become our habitual way of thinking. It is a pattern of expecting the best instead of the worst; of having confidence instead of doubt; of trusting instead of worrying; and of clinging to faith instead of fear. When this faith-based way of thinking is our habit, we will be prepared for any storm.
In addition, gear must be maintained. Periodic maintenance of the generator or replacing a tattered umbrella helps keep us ready for actual inclement weather. Maintaining our positive thought pattern is also necessary for our personal weather. Negative thoughts are so prevalent in the world today that if we are lax about protecting our positive attitude, negative thoughts will slip in and overshadow it. Maintaining our positive thought pattern requires our regular attention.
In actual weather, we have learned to recognize a storm’s warning signs. Our experience has taught us that when the sky is full of clouds and grows dark, it’s probably going to rain. Recognizing these signs helps us determine what actions we should take.
Our personal storms may also have warning signs. We may have experiences or insights that help us recognize that something is wrong. When we heed these warnings, we can build ourselves up and be guided by our positive thoughts so that we can have a good course of action.
Think about an actual thunderstorm. How do you deal with it? You seek shelter, hunker down, and ride it out. It might be a little scary and maybe you lose power or sustain some property damage. But overall, your attitude is, “It’s a storm and it will pass. I’ve been through this before”.
The same should be our attitude in a personal thunderstorm. In the middle of it, we might be afraid. But our experience tells us that it will end, and we will be okay, so we can put away that fear. With the expectation that “this too shall pass”, we can get ourselves back on track in short order.
What about the times when it’s overcast and drizzly for days at a time? Those times aren’t necessarily scary or dangerous, just annoying and gloomy. I think, though, that these drizzly times in our personal lives can be particularly bothersome. Frustration can overwrite our positive attitude before we realize it. These are the times when humor might be a good remedy. It is important to be able to laugh in the face of annoyance rather than get angry; and smile at the gloom rather than get discouraged.
I was privileged to aid in the relief efforts following Hurricane Katrina. There was widespread devastation and destruction, the likes of which I had never seen before. However, we did not focus on the destruction, we focused on the rebuilding. We did not focus on the loss, we focused on the restoration. That doesn’t mean that the devastation and destruction were ignored. It means that people were met with compassion and encouragement for the future.
There may come a time when we experience a personal hurricane in our lives. Recovery must be our focus in that situation as well. We cannot dwell on the devastation. We can shed our tears and allow ourselves the necessary time to heal, then we must look ahead and determine that we WILL get through this circumstance. We can rely on our habit pattern of positive faith-based thinking to facilitate our success. And by working through the situation instead of giving up, we can add patience, endurance, and courage to our thought habits. As was needed in the aftermath of Katrina, we may need help. We should not be afraid to ask for it, remembering always that prayer is key. Then once we have recovered, we can add fortitude, thankfulness, rejoicing and victory to our repertoire.
“Into each life some rain must fall” may be true, but it doesn’t have to defeat us. We may not be able to prevent the rain from falling, but we can be prepared for it by collecting and maintaining the proper thoughts. We can deal with the effects of the rain by utilizing our positive-thought habit pattern. And when devasting storms knock us down, we can recover by sticking to our faith.
No matter what storms come through our lives, we must never give up. In Longfellow’s poem, he recognized this by saying, “Behind the clouds is the sun still shining”. Remember that it is light shining through the rain that makes a rainbow. And don’t forget – you and God make a majority. You can do this!
Note to my readers: Thank you so much for taking this journey with me. It is definitely a work in progress! I hope my blogs will continue to bless you and give you a breath of fresh air each week. Please check back on Fridays for new installments and feel free to send me comments on the “Contact Me” page. (I don’t know if the comments tab works – I’m still learning this computer stuff.)
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