The weather station announced that this will be one stormy weekend. There will be snow, sleet, ice and freezing rain. David and I are pretty much resigned to the possibility of being confined home for the next two days. David had joked that when there is a storm in the U.S., people stack up on burgers, toilet paper and beer. I countered that in the Philippines, people stack up on sardines, noodles, and candles. 

     As a child, living in a small island that gets visited by typhoons every year, I looked forward to the typhoon season because it meant that classes would be suspended. I would get the chance to stay home and watch the rain and listen to the howling wind from our living room window. It was exciting to see the trees swaying wildly and the rain water flooding the road in front of our house. The leaves would be flying and a few branches would break. One time, the big macopa tree in front of our house destroying a big swing that my grandfather built .

     Behind our house there is a river and I would monitor the water level. It thrilled me to see the waters rise almost to the level of the river bank. I still remember how good it felt to eat a warm meal in the safety of our house as the typhoon continued to unfurl its fury outside.

     After the typhoon, my siblings and I would go out and survey the damage. Then the family, together with our helpers and workers, would start the job of cleaning up the debris. Sometimes, we would not have electricity for a few days but that did not bother me. From the eyes of a child, that was fun.

     I had never associated typhoons with fear until I was a young adult  teaching at the universtiy. A super typhoon struck in the middle of the night and reached its peak at about 3 in the morning. The wind was so strong, it threatened to destroy our windows. It seemed like water was being dumped inside our house by the bucketful. I remember crouching in one corner of my bedroom trying to keep dry. Electricity had been cut off, so it was dark and I could not see anything but I could hear the angry wind threatening to demolish everything that was not strong enough to withstand it. For the first time, I was really scared. Since then, whenever I hear that a typhoon was headed towards our place, I would feel that fear churning in my belly.

          Two months after I came to the U.S., we had a big ice storm on the day before Thanksgiving. Snow was, and still is, a novelty to me so I found the experience very interesting. David was grumbling because he had to drive on some slippery road to my sister in law's house for Thanksgiving dinner. I, on the other hand, was so fascinated by the scenery that I could not empathize with his dilemma .  

       Sometimes, storms come to our lives causing turmoil, sadness, fear and distress. Storms can cause havoc on our daily routine. It causes an increase in driving accidents, destroys homes and building, wrecks bridges and other infrastructures and more.

     Storms of the spiritual kind can also enter our lives  bringing turmoil, confusion, sadness, fear and distress. As a result of their aftermath, our lives may change forever.

     There are two kinds of spiritual storms.

      The first is what I call the "storm of comeuppance". This is the kind of storm that we bring upon ourselves as a result of our actions, words and thoughts. For example, when we embezzle money from our work place or take someone's life, we may face the storm of getting arrested and landing in jail. When we backbite our friends, we may face the storm of losing people who are close to us. When a husband or wife cheats on his or her spouse, the storm called divorce might strike into that marriage. The spouse with the wounded heart may sue the unfaithful partner and wipe him or her out financially, then they will have a full blown hurricane called bankruptcy.  

     Storms like these are lessons from Life. Life is teaching us to change our thoughts, words and actions so that we will not have to go through this kind of storm again. Our role is to learn the lesson, make the necessary changes, take responsibility for our action by not blaming others.

     Then there is the other kind of storm. I call this the "storm of God happens". This is the kind of storm which come upon our lives not as a consequence of past actions but because God wants to get our attention. These storms can strike without warning or they can come slowly and gain momentum until it becomes a full blown hurricane. Like the "bad things that happen to good people" stories that we hear about or read about.

     When storms like these enter into our lives, it is God trying to get our attention because our lives are about to take a big turn around. Sometimes, it is God's way of saying, "It is time for you do the mission you are meant to do, but first you need to strengthen your soul and the only way to do that is for you to go through the corridors of perseverance (or patience, or forgiveness, or courage and so on)".

     This is the kind of storm that turns our lives upside down because our life is not meant to stay the same after this storm is over. Our role is to sit still, pray like you have never prayed before and LISTEN for guidance.

     As I reflect on this, I remember the story of a man who was forced out of his succesful business by his greedy partners. On the same day that he learned about this betrayal, his wife left him and asked for a divorce. His whole life seemed to have crumbled on a heap in front of him.

     Then he had a flash of insight. He had never been a religious man, but on that day, he said "Only God can do something like this." So he prayed and said, "Ok God,  what is it that you want of me. Give me guidance." (Note that he did not say, "Please give me back my business" or "Please make my wife love me again").

     He had a dream and in this dream, he was guided to take over and rebuild a small business that he partly owned. This business had not been doing well so, at first glance, the guidance from from his dream did not seem logical. Still, he followed it. The business  thrived and he found himself the sole owner of a successful company. Not long after, he married a woman who was perfect for him. He is now a generous philanthropist in Holland.     

     Storms are scary stuff. I cannot count the times when I prayed that God will not give me storms in my life. I know theoretically that growth can only happen as a result of having "weathered the storm", still, it did not stop me from being scared and praying to be delivered from them.

     However, God in His wisdom could not be bribed by my prayers, sacrifices and love. He sent a few storms my way, and through His grace I have survived them. My life changed for the better and I am so grateful.

     Still, even if I know that storms are opportunities for growth and expansion, I still go down on my knees and ask God to redirect any storm that is showing the smallest bit of inclination to head down my way.  What a scary cat I am .