Titus 2 Men And Women

"Till The Storm Passes by"
Thoughts From My Daily Journal.......................................11/12/96
by Sharon Merhalski

( I was out each school day very early in the morning and at dusk when I drove a school van for our Christian school.)

Journal entry 11/12/96

"I love to watch the dawning of a new day Lord. This morning I am sooooo thankful that I have the time to sit still and consider the awesome beauty of this gorgeous, yet threatening, early morning sky.

With brilliant sunshine and perfectly clear---almost turquoise blue skies above me I see also an ominous wall of black storm clouds looming in the distance blanketing the eastern sky. The dark clouds are spread over the earth in a precise thin layer and yet topped with the same brilliant sky that covers me. Curious...a thin band of light gray perfectly outlines the top of that cloud wall."

Journal entry 11/14/96

"For two mornings and afternoons this atmospheric condition has been both breathtaking and thought provoking. Thoughts have been racing through my mind and I must know what it is like inside of that wall of clouds---inside of that storm.."

Journal entry 11/16/96

"A few minutes ago a pilot returned my telephone call. He was extremely helpful as he explained what I have found to be so captivating. He told me that it is a lake-effect storm and he answered my curiosity about what it is like flying inside of those clouds.

1.) The atmosphere is very thick---like being in a very, very, thick fog.

2.) A pilot has zero visibility so his own flying ability is useless. The pilot

must rely completely on the airplanes instruments to guide him.

3.) There is rarely any turbulence at all inside of those clouds.

4.) These kinds of storms are not very high. A beautiful sky---the light---is always close.

5.) That ominous black layer of clouds looks beautifully white and fluffy from the top.

Last night I heard a newscaster interview some people in Michigan who live in cities under that black blanket of clouds that has not moved in days. With over four feet of snow in twenty-four hours, and with two more days of snow predicted, the storm has caused mass frustration, discouragement, and impatience. The people were unable to see what I have observed...the brilliant blue sky above their darkness and the edge of the cloud wall---the end of the storm in sight.

I am remembering a time when I felt what those folks expressed to that newscaster. The moment that our son Joe was diagnosed with a brain tumor our family passed through the wall of a storm in to the dense fog of very dark clouds. For months we could not see the sun and turquoise blue skies just above us. We like the folks in Michigan experienced some discouragement, frustration, and impatience.

I remember the unexplainable calm of God’s grace that flooded my soul the moment that I heard the words, "brain tumor". I also remember immediately thanking God for the medical ordeals hat our family had been through in years gone by. I remember thanking Him many times for teaching us how to manage life "til the storm passes by".

In multiplied trials we had learned that our wisdom and abilities could not move us through the darkness. We knew that when visibility reached zero we must rely totally on God’s perfect, infallible, flight instruments; His Words/The Bible, and prayer. We knew that we must wait for and totally depend on expert guidance from our "High Tower" (one of the names of God). We had learned the hard way (more than once) that it is this waiting and dependence/trust that kept us from experiencing heavy turbulence---kept us from being "tossed to and fro" in the midst of the storms.

Journal entry 10/2/97

"It has been almost four years since the doctors diagnosis swept us in to this storm of life. My family has gained altitude and for almost a year we have been living in that thin band of grey clouds that separates the black storm clouds from the brilliant turquoise blue sky. We moved to this new location the day that we were told the tumor had shrunk by 50%. This layer of clouds is not as threatening, the sky is some-what brighter, but the grey haze keeps us trusting ONLY in God---our perfect pilot---to bring us in to daybreak.

LORD, as I sit and consider again the striking contrasts of that magnificent storm, and the pilots explanation of the inside of those clouds, my heart is consumed with II Corinthians 1:4, "Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort we ourselves are comforted of God."

Father, I know that from Your view above the clouds the dark storm clouds in my life have appeared as fluffy white beautiful times of change and growth to be able to be used for Your glory. I thank You for the breaks that You so often made in those ominous clouds of my life---the ones that seemed so threatening from my view. Thank Your for those breaks that allowed rays of the sun/Son to filter down to me---the Bible verses, sermons, songs, people, medical reports, etc.: those rays that You used to re-charge my faith and hope and the faith and hope of my family.

Please LORD, help me to always be ready to be a ray of sun/Son when You make a break in the dark clouds of those who hurt. With loving words from experience help me to paint for each person a beautiful picture of the vibrant rays of sun/Son that will come from the absolutely gorgeous turquoise blue sky of a sun drenched daybreak---the canopy of Your love, grace, mercy, and victory IN the circumstance"

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