Seek: In the Storm

“But he called out to them, “Don’t be afraid, I am here!”

John 6:20

Banff, Alberta, Canada

In the mountains the weather can be unpredictable, to say the least.  My family loves to ski and a day on the hill can start out as a blue bird day, change to a blizzard by noon, and then change back to calm by the time you’re headed home.  You learn to expect the unexpected and be prepared for anything.

This week my family was in the mountains every day. Driving into Banff from northern Washington on a Sunday the weather was beautiful and the roads clear. Monday morning we got the kids up early, bundled up, and headed to the hill. It was close to zero degrees Fahrenheit when we put all our gear on in the parking lot and made our way up the gondola. The ride up boasted breathtaking views of big cliffs, frozen waterfalls, and lots and lots of clouds. Almost to the top, we started to get little peeks of blue skies. Ever the optimist, I claimed for the day that we would get some sunshine at Sunshine Ski Resort that day. Except for a few very brief moments, I turned out to be wrong.

We did still have a great day making our way through the chunky snow and blizzardy conditions but coming home I couldn’t help but feel disappointed. I’d so looked forward to bringing our boys to this mountain that my husband and I had been so awestruck by just one year earlier. There are hardly words for how the sprawling Canadian Rockies make you feel. The range boasts huge jagged peaks that just go on and on and on, leaving you in awe of what God created. But we did not get to experience any of that together on the cloudy snowy day.

We returned to the same mountain three days later, and what a change three days made! Blue skies were everywhere, the skiing conditions were excellent after the recent snow, and I got to see my big sprawling mountain views.  The exact same place I’d been just a few days before looked and felt completely different.  Nothing about the mountains themselves were changed, only what surrounded them.

Life can be this way too. Some days we are in the thick of the storm. We can’t see more than a few feet in front of us. We are miserable and tired. But given time, there are sunny days around the corner. Even in the storm, God is working. He never sleeps. In the storms, he is there, just like on the blue bird days. This doesn’t mean the storms are easy or we won’t feel disappointed. But, when we trust that God has sunny days in our future, we can breathe easier and weather the storm.

Jesus’ own disciples once didn’t recognize he was right in front him in the middle of a storm. So give yourself grace if on those cloudy days it seems hard to make it through. But, the more we fix our eyes, seek him, and trust that he is working for our good (even during the storm), the more peace we can find. I pray that whether you’re in a season of stormy days or sunshine that you find moments to trust that God’s plan for you is bigger and better and more grand than you have ever imagined.

May you Seek + Sojourn more,

Teddi Jo