The Calm before the Storm
Growing up in Alabama, I experienced multiple Tornados and Hurricanes. My Mom would rush into my room at night, if she heard the warning sirens, and gather me up still clinging to my pillow and put me in our hallway closet. The morning after would usually bring reports of destruction and devastation. Death of family members, homes destroyed, and precious memories lost. The look their faces showed defeat and hopelessness but every once in a while a person would look into the camera and tell their story of loss but instead their eyes showed something of gain. This gain is the strength of their faith. Of having realized that this obstacle can be overcome, of having realized that the same God who created the storm also blesses us with a Rainbow after. Seeing that trust in them has in turn encouraged me to view a mighty squall the same way that King Lear does, with a clinched fisted pointed upward and a shout "Blow wind and crack your cheeks."