Storms & Sunshine

Storms & Sunshine

 Have you ever been driving down the highway, and in the sky ahead you see a wall of dark, foreboding clouds? 

You know that you are about to go straight into a storm, and there is no way to avoid the storm. 

So on you drive, and the rain comes down in loud, pounding sheets.  The road is flooding and, sometimes, you lose your traction.  

Yet suddenly, in the midst of the storm, the sun bursts through the clouds, and the rain stops, as suddenly as it had appeared. 

You look back, and there you see the other cars behind you still with their wipers on the highest setting, and their hazards flashing.  

Looking back ahead, the pavement glistens in blinding rays that reflect where the rain once poured.

The memory of the storm is still fresh in your mind, but somehow, you are in the sunshine ironically juxtaposed to the downpour you just made it through.

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2023 was like that for me. 

Somehow, I was in the biggest storms and brightest sunshine of my life. 

The sunshine was beautiful, but the clouds were still ever-present in my memory or sometimes even casting a shadow on the sun.

But what I know is, the God of the thunderstorm is also the God of the sunshine. 

He is the shelter in the storm, and He dwells in inapproachable light. 

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This year has seen me leaving my 7 year career to start a new adventure with the same passions. 

I have a new home and have found new friends in my amazing co-workers. 

God has provided these things, and He has sustained in all the difficult parts of the transition like when my nephew looked up at me with teary eyes and told me, "I didn't want you to move."

And now, this girl who used to be terrified to drive in Dallas finds herself driving through the heart of downtown daily. 

One of the most difficult parts of the year was Uncle Jeff's passing - he was one of the biggest supporters I've ever had. In some ways, I think losing him and dealing with all the aftermath of that loss has taken a bit of the song from my soul or at least added more minor to the key. Yet, his confidence in me also spurs me on the keep pressing on when I feel like giving up.

This transition hasn't left me much time to write, but every day I'm getting more into a routine of how I can fit my creative passions into this new life. 

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So to each of my faithful readers, 

Thank you. 

Thank you for still reading, when the notes sound a little sadder. 

Thank you for celebrating with me, when the blessings shine. 

Thank you for your encouragement, when I doubt what is said or what is left unsaid. 

Thank you for walking this journey with me. 

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May the God of storms and sunshine

Shelter you in the year to come 

&

May His presence shine upon you. 

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Praying peace and beauty on your 2024. 

(photo credit: Roxann Hadley)