That the Storm May Go Good- revisited

I am reposting this from this June. I don't know if some of you already read this or not, but, I think its worth looking back at. It has been a stormy season around here in many lives, and I feel as though this is a good encourager. I really am working on another post, but God is having me wait until I have it all right so I don't try to kick it out in a hurry. In the mean time, enjoy this oldie, but goodie.

• Last night as I tucked my kids into bed it was beginning to storm. They knew it was lightening and thundering, so they chose to sleep in the basement-- they don't sleep so well with the house rattling! Go figure, and if I can get sleep without 4 extra arms and 4 extra legs in my bed, then I will be doing well also.
• As I was tucking Maicy in and she said her prayers, part of her prayer was, "that the storms may go good." Realizing she is only 6, I know that she didn't think her prayer was so profound, it just was her prayer, but it really struck me at the time. She didn't pray that the storms will go away, or that they just not be here, but since they have to be here, let them go well.
• How often in our lives do we just pray for the "storms" to go away. We don't want them, we don't want to deal with the scary parts, or the clean up later. Please God, just take away this storm so I don't have to go through this. But, God doesn't promise that there will be no storms in our lives, what He does assure us is that He will be there with us, through that storm and will be there with us to help us on the other side.
• We all go through storms in our life. For some its sickness, for some it is financial hardships, divorce, infertility, adoption stresses, colicky babies, children living in abuse have their own storms, and there are so many more storms that God asks us to weather. Paul asked- begged- God take away the thorn in his flesh, but God's answer was "no." What God did instead was give him grace. God walked through Paul's storm with him.
• How a storm goes well is not always so clear either. We don't always end up on the other side of the storm where we wanted it to go. Our loved one still dies, the divorce still happens, the adoption is failed, etc. Does that mean it didn't go well? I don't believe so. I think if we can come through the storm clinging on to our Lord and come out knowing that He is still Lord and God is still in control and that He still loves us, and we still have Hope in our lives, then the storm has gone well.
• Praying for you all as you may be enduring your own storms right now, and praying that your storms will go good.