Fire, Rain and Snow, Oh My!

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“We don’t even know how strong we are until we are forced to bring that hidden strength forward.” ~ Isabel Allende

Fire, Rain and Snow. Oh my!

James Taylor has always been one of my favorite musicians. His breakthrough album, released on February 1, 1970, was Sweet Baby James. He was only twenty-one years old, and it was his second album.

Wow! Can you imagine having the talent and maturity to pen not only the music but lyrics to songs that are now iconic? Fifty-five years later?  Me, either!

The song, “Fire and Rain” has always been one I listened to over and over. The start of the chorus goes like this: 

“I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain 

I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end 

I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend 

But I always thought that I’d see you again.”

People across our nation have experienced the gamut of trials in our weather this week. Others have buried loved ones. One being our former President, Jimmy Carter.

Southern Californians have lost homes due to the fires. The outbreak of fires in that part of the country has long been an issue, but it seems to be on the rise. 

Midwesterners all the way over to the east coast, with a few southern spots thrown in are blanketed in snow. Here in Dixie, we have cold rain and wind.

From a new year perspective, things have not started out great. We assume that because it is a new year, the trials and tribulations of last year will disappear and we’ll have some sunny days. The kind that James Taylor sings about. We may, but there is no guarantee.

So, what to do? You’ve lost your home to a fire. You’re snowed in with power issues which means heating issues. The temps may drop, and that rain freezes on the roads. None of those scenarios are appealing. 

You may be experiencing health issues, financial worries, a victim of an accident or horrific event like the one recently in New Orleans. Again, what do you do?

Blame God? Get angry? Withdraw? Self-medicate? Give up?

For myself, I turn to the source that has always given me strength to go one more day. The God of love. My prism of love is found in the life of Jesus. Yours may be different. At any rate, we cling to the promise of love and wait until this too passes.

It has been my experience that it is when I am walking through the darkest night of the soul, that love firmly envelops me. Love doesn’t necessarily change the physical, but it changes the way my heart deals with the physical.

The next verse in the song goes like this:

“Won’t you look down upon me, Jesus?

You’ve got to help me make a stand

You’ve just got to see me through another day

My body’s aching and my time is at hand

And I won’t make it any other way”

You may find the source of love through friends and even strangers that gather around and help rebuild a community devastated by Mother Nature’s wrath. 

It may come in the form of a sweet pet that makes sure you do not feel lonely amid the chaos of your situation. It may show up in unexpected ways, like a telephone call from someone you’d never imagine reaching out.

It could also be the quiet, still voice that softly whispers, “All is well.” 

Whatever and wherever you look for your source of love, if you are dealing with hard times, go there. Grab on and wait until you see a sunny day that you think will never end. It will come. Nothing lasts forever, not even the bad times.

Fire, rain, snow and the hurts of life are all temporary, but love is forever.