Those who know me well know I collect mugs, pigs, love rain and trees as in family trees, roots and particularly their strength. I have also been fascinated with memes such as “Don’t wait for the storm to pass…
learn to dance in the rain.” Also the one…”Be the woman who fixes another woman’s crown without telling the world it was crooked.” These two memes, I believe, can go together so perfectly. We live in a world that tears others apart at the seams, leaves others to live with their guilt, shame and heartache alone. The world can have a tendency to kick the wounded while they are down and never look back. This is sad and not uncommon. BUT….there is HOPE. I want to be that woman who dances through the storms and helps others “straighten their crown.” I was able to attend and participate in a wonderful “Stay” Retreat recently. The theme was “Brave on the Way”, but it could have easily been restated to be “Brave on the Way, but NEVER Alone.” The underlying theme was that whatever you are going through you need to share it (which, honestly, is brave in itself) because whatever it is no one has to go through it alone. Of course God is with us always, even when He seems to be distant and then we have our friends, Church family, family and most importantly strangers who touch us in some way( most are not strangers for long.) Community is important especially when dealing with life. That is where the meme ” be the woman who straightens another woman’s crown without telling the world it was crooked,” means alot to me. I have had people do that in my life and I try to do that for others. When going through a storm or trial there is enough fear involved that to reach out is scary enough, but to have someone come alongside and pick us up without judgement, brush off the dust, dirt, fear, shame, wash our face and give us that feeling of worth so we can continue to move forward and let God work, straighten our crown and then even dance with us in that storm is so priceless. This precious analogy is two fold though…. we have to share and we have to accept the hand being given to us, a lifeline that connects us to them and to our God as well. Too many times when I think of storms I am reminded of a passage in the scriptures where Jesus and the disciples were in a boat and a storm arose. It was a pretty big storm, at least in the disciples eyes. They were frantic and started looking for Jesus, who was asleep in the boat. The disciples woke Jesus and basically said “how can you sleep in a time like this…this storm may kills us, don’t you care?”( I am paraphrasing here a little.) What did Jesus do?….He spoke to the winds and waves and said…BE STILL.
Matthew 8:23-27 NIV
[23] Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. [24] Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. [25] The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” [26] He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. [27] The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” This is so me sometimes, afraid of my storm, not wanting to let anyone know, not wanting to even dance in the storm let alone allow someone to speak life into me and straighten my crown. Life can be soooo big, overwhelming, discouraging and dark that one step forward could mean “death” for me. Luckily in my life I do have a village that as I mature in age and my walk with God, I feel comfortable and safe enough to let them in to pick me up, clean me off and dance with me in my storm. Believe me when I say it is a village. Being a single mom I have relied on that village to help me raise my daughter and to help guide my steps in the path the Lord is leading me down. I am grateful for this village and for God who lead me to my village. I forever want to be a pillar for people to lean on, an encourager to those in life’s storms and a positive influence in the world around me. Life may be tough, storms may threaten to drown me, but my God just has to speak and the storms of life will cease. If you see me dancing through it come join me and see the miracles that God has provided. Praise the Lord for the storm and those who come along side and pick me up and set me in the direction of peace and hope and straighten my crown.
