Living in the Storm

Painting: Above The Storm

As we face the weeks ahead, some of us have found a sweet spot to rest amidst the storm of this past year. However, many are still being ravaged, all that was held dear has been lost. The storm that was to be a few weeks, or a few months, is unceasing in its terror and power. For many, every wave that pounds their shore, carries another piece of themselves out to sea. Whether on land or water, many on have been blown off course, as familiar landmarks and routines of daily living have been obliterated from their horizon line.

Most of the folks I know in North America, have not lived through this type of uncertainty. We lose our mooring, unless we find parallels in other points of loss and grief. My friends who have lived through cancers, seem to approach this season differently. They know what loss is and they stare this storm in the face. I see that they do not presume upon the outcome—they simply will not give up, they cannot give up. Then there are those riding out this storm, who have lived through the terror of domestic abuse. They engage this storm, in all its fury, from the top deck of their ship. My friends who live with T1 Diabetes, take things one moment at a time. They know what fragile reality looks and feels like. Their strength of character, does not make that disease go away, they live through it. I have watched a school  administrator, with a defibrillator in her chest, which bears witness to the miracle of living against the odds, as she shows up as the protector of the children in her charge—without a vaccine to date. While, I have not lived through each of their reality, this storm season reminds me of other storms I have been blessed to live through – when the odds were stacked against me. Some of those challenges were amazing to walk through. While others shredded my frame, in ways which changed me forever, yet I am alive. Life is real — real hard sometimes.

Wherever we find ourselves, in health, in sickness, facing death, watching new life being born—to make it through is the goal. We stand in a “wherever—forever—never giving up” posture in our hearts as we love and as we live. Many of us will live on, and we will grieve, the people we have lost and the changes in our circumstances. We will remember what we have said farewell to, during this extended time of sorrow.  Please do grieve—weep and walk on. I am doing just that. Then let us keep moving forward through time. Let us welcome the wind, knowing that we cannot get traction, without friction.

Patty Bowman Kingsley

c r e a t o r

This song—captures my heart and my imagination. What song carries you through today? Feel free to share in the comments below.

Painting: Making Waves - Mercy