I began this series during a thunderstorm.
The long hot summers in the panhandle of Texas are broken up by turbulent thunderstorms. Sometimes these storms flare up without warning and sometimes they roll over the flat plains like thick molasses, giving you time to track their arrival. No matter their speed, you can't stop them though. The dark clouds appear and the sun gets obscured, then the rain starts pouring down and everything feels sticky for a fraction of a second before the cold and wet set in. Flashing lightning and the roaring thunder makes for a magnificent experience, until the destruction starts. As a kid, I looked forward to these huge storms that made me feel so small and left me in awe of our world. As an adult, I am still enchanted by them... from the safety of a front porch. Because as an adult, I recognize that behind all that terrifying beauty, there is very real danger and very real pain in dealing with a storm's merciless carnage.
In the same way, painful seasons show up in our lives—either with surprising speed, or agonizing anticipation. When you're in the middle of one of those times, it can feel as overwhelming as being in the middle of a thunderstorm. Your emotional world darkens and your senses are overwhelmed by grief. Reference points can be lost in the pouring rain of emotion and darkness of despair, leaving us feeling lost. Moving forward can feel impossible, because it's hard to see more than a few feet away. But, once the storm rolls away and we can see the horizon line of our life's path again, we get some perspective. Only then can we see what is truly permanent and steady in our lives.
The Storm Series is about struggling with despair in the midst of pain and finding that, though hard to see during the storm, God’s providence remains in place.
Corinne Holloway
The long hot summers in the panhandle of Texas are broken up by turbulent thunderstorms. Sometimes these storms flare up without warning and sometimes they roll over the flat plains like thick molasses, giving you time to track their arrival. No matter their speed, you can't stop them though. The dark clouds appear and the sun gets obscured, then the rain starts pouring down and everything feels sticky for a fraction of a second before the cold and wet set in. Flashing lightning and the roaring thunder makes for a magnificent experience, until the destruction starts. As a kid, I looked forward to these huge storms that made me feel so small and left me in awe of our world. As an adult, I am still enchanted by them... from the safety of a front porch. Because as an adult, I recognize that behind all that terrifying beauty, there is very real danger and very real pain in dealing with a storm's merciless carnage.
In the same way, painful seasons show up in our lives—either with surprising speed, or agonizing anticipation. When you're in the middle of one of those times, it can feel as overwhelming as being in the middle of a thunderstorm. Your emotional world darkens and your senses are overwhelmed by grief. Reference points can be lost in the pouring rain of emotion and darkness of despair, leaving us feeling lost. Moving forward can feel impossible, because it's hard to see more than a few feet away. But, once the storm rolls away and we can see the horizon line of our life's path again, we get some perspective. Only then can we see what is truly permanent and steady in our lives.
The Storm Series is about struggling with despair in the midst of pain and finding that, though hard to see during the storm, God’s providence remains in place.
Corinne Holloway