After the Storm

Girl in Bed with Cat
Vintage Art Print

It's a fierce thunderstorm that's raging this evening, the kind that sends the cat skulking to his hiding place under the couch. I find my own place of refuge propped against the bed pillows, sipping a cup of PG Tips tea. My emotions have been as intense as the storm this evening, and I share the cat's instinct to take refuge in a safe place.

I reflect on the carefully planned dinner that a few hours ago took a downward spiral into a disastrous debacle. Where did I go wrong?

I had spent a lot of time preparing spareribs, fresh sweet corn, and oatmeal buns slathered with butter. I pictured a time of sweet family fellowship around the table. But instead of enjoying the food, a couple of the children rehashed an old argument. When my attempts to quash it failed, I became angry.

HOW DARE THEY SPOIL THIS NICE FAMILY MEAL???

The long and the short of it is that I didn't act any more mature than they did.

A wise woman once said we need to love without getting tired. I guess that means I need to:

• seek forgiveness
• extend forgiveness
• let it go
• prepare another meal tomorrow

I learned a long time ago that victory is putting one foot in front of the other and moving forward. It would be easier to quit trying, but then I know I'd miss out on that fresh new beginning that can only be described as a world freshly scrubbed after a thunderstorm.

As I finish writing these words, the thunder peals have become more distant. I can barely hear them. Tomorrow, I probably won't even think about them.

It will be a new day.

"It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed,
because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness."
Lamentations 3:22-23