In The Storm
Last summer my girlfriends and I were spending the day in Asheville, NC.
We roamed around the shops, sampled some sweet treats, and just enjoyed a lazy day discovering the city. Late in the afternoon the skies started to get dark and thunder could be heard in the distance.
We started to make our way to the car attempting to avoid getting drenched.
A few seconds of rain and the sky opened up and dumped on the square block we were standing in. The streets quickly became swift moving creeks as the downpour of water was exceeding the capacity of the city drainage systems and all hell was breaking loose in the sky. Lightening and thunder lit the sky and shook the earth.
We didn't quite make it to the car!
Lucky for us, we happened upon an awning the hung over the front door of a jewelry shop. After a few minutes of giggling under the awning, the shop owner came to the door and let us in. We were soaked, and soaking his very fancy marble floors. He disregarded the inconvenience of opening up the store, and allowing us to make a muddy mess in the doorway to give us sanctuary.
Yesterday I was flipping through some pictures and came across one that I took of the 7 of us ladies huddled together in that jewelry store and three things jumped out at me:
1. There is joy when you are waiting out a storm. None of us wanted to be standing there, freezing cold, dripping wet, in this poor man's shop. But we were together. We laughed, told stories, and marveled at the chaos going on outside.
We will have storms in our life. They too, can be less inconvenient if we wait them out with awesome, supportive, encouraging, fun people.
2. Know when to leave. It wasn't going to stop raining for a while. While we appreciated the jewelry store owner's hospitality, we could stay there in the shelter forever. Two of us borrowed the man's umbrella and headed out to get the car, to bring back to retrieve the others.
We can't stay in our figurative shelter forever. We have to enjoy the break, gather the tools and head out.
3. There is time to get to know the jeweler in the storm. As we stood in the entryway of a jeweler store under construction we had a lot of dead time on our hands. We used that time to get to know the one who gave us shelter. He told us the history of the store and celebrated the success it had in the town. We all walked away with an appreciation for the family business and the man's willingness to rescue us.
When you are in a storm, get to know the One who gives you shelter.
Yesterday I was flipping through some pictures and came across one that I took of the 7 of us ladies huddled together in that jewelry store and three things jumped out at me:
1. There is joy when you are waiting out a storm. None of us wanted to be standing there, freezing cold, dripping wet, in this poor man's shop. But we were together. We laughed, told stories, and marveled at the chaos going on outside.
We will have storms in our life. They too, can be less inconvenient if we wait them out with awesome, supportive, encouraging, fun people.
2. Know when to leave. It wasn't going to stop raining for a while. While we appreciated the jewelry store owner's hospitality, we could stay there in the shelter forever. Two of us borrowed the man's umbrella and headed out to get the car, to bring back to retrieve the others.
We can't stay in our figurative shelter forever. We have to enjoy the break, gather the tools and head out.
3. There is time to get to know the jeweler in the storm. As we stood in the entryway of a jeweler store under construction we had a lot of dead time on our hands. We used that time to get to know the one who gave us shelter. He told us the history of the store and celebrated the success it had in the town. We all walked away with an appreciation for the family business and the man's willingness to rescue us.
When you are in a storm, get to know the One who gives you shelter.
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