It was a beautiful Tuesday morning. The sun was up but not hot: the heavy cloud cover made sure that the morning was not hot. I was scheduled to attend a meeting out of town for the day. We set off to the rift valley, where I looked forward to many fruitful engagements with our field team. The drive was beautiful. Along the way, the clouds hand over sprawling, beautiful, green hills, interspersed with the occasional river and a few bare patches where the farmers had already cultivated in preparation for the planting season coming up shortly.
The meeting was going well, and we were getting into the rhythm of things when a call from our headquarters came in, urgently summoning me back. I packed my laptop and headed out of the meeting venue. The sky was grey, the clouds pregnant with rain, and all indications were that it would rain sometime.
A few minutes later, the raindrops fell fast and furious. The road ahead was hazy, and the car had to slow down and drive with the hazard lights blinking for visibility. I expected rain, but I had not anticipated the sudden downpour. We drove slowly for about seven minutes, then as suddenly as the rain had started, it stopped! Just like that. It was as if there was a curtain between the two places: one part of the town was having a thunderstorm while the other part was dry. There was a clear line of demarcation on the road. Wonders indeed will never cease.
Ever felt like that in life? Where you go through the normal business of living, then out of the blue, a curveball is thrown, and all hell breaks loose around you? Usually without any warning or signal? Then, as suddenly as it started, peace resumes, and life becomes so calm you struggle to believe what you just went through.
These are the seasons of life. The occurrences that make life. As I reflect on what had just happened, it dawned on me that how we navigated the road during the storm was different from how we drove on an ordinary day. We slowed down, used our wipers to clean the windshield and put on the hazard lights to allow us be seen by other road users. We activated our coping mechanisms.
When pepper hits the fan how do we navigate? Some of us are doers and strong personalities: we keep the focus and try to go through the storm as if it weren’t there. We believe we are strong and cannot allow anything to deter us. Whereas that may be true, it could also be harmful. In the storm, the car slowed down to avoid slipping or hitting other cars that may not be visible in the storm. Slowing down when facing life storms allows us to have clarity of mind, make better judgement and avoid hurting ourselves or others in the process. It doesn’t mean we stop; we just slow down.
We used our wipers to clear the windshield and see better where we are going. Life issues evoke strong emotions. We become angry, sad, bitter or even exhilarated. During these intense emotional moments, we may miss adverse issues that may later impact our lives. Think about a parent whose child has been behaving out of character. One day they are arrested in the wrong company, doing things you warned them not to do. As a parent you get angry, you might shout, hit the child or cut them off completely. But what if their behavior is a symptom of other issues? What if it is caused by our being absent, or indifferent to the child? Or the child has gone through abuse, and their behavior is a coping mechanism? We will only know if we have a way to clear our vision. A friend who we trust could help us analyze things, maybe some quiet time and meditation or anything that allows us to slow down and see things more clearly.
Finally, we had our hazard lights on. This was not for us but for others. To warn them that we are on the road, so that we do not get hurt. So that they give us way. In life situations, we need to have a way of warning others or letting them know that we are not ok. That our reactions and behavior might be unusual, so they need to understand, and maybe even give us some time and space. This is to avoid hurting them and ruining relationships that we value and will need after the storm passes.
As we drove past the storm, it felt great to drive normally again. It was reassuring that nothing lasts forever. So too is life. When life happens, duck and wait on the Lord: it will pass. Psalm 27:18 – Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord (NLT).
