The Eye of the Storm

My daughter called me last night in a frantic mess. She was stuck in traffic in a terrible storm with reported tornadoes. The hardest thing as a mother is to know your child is in danger and know you simply can't get to them... I've felt that way a lot in the 7 years she has been in the Navy. While I worked at calming her down, her dad was looking at the radar trying to pinpoint exactly where she was in relation to the reported tornado. She called me back when she made it home safely... Whew! When we went to bed my husband took

one last look at Facebook and saw a picture of our son and his fiance huddled together in the tub... He had a grin the size of Texas, she looked terrified. If the picture had been taken a year ago, he would have been out chasing the storms, trying to get a good look at what was going on. That's what love does for you, it changes your perspective and makes you aware of emotions that aren't necessarily your own. So, while my neighbors, family and friends spent the night huddled in their bathtubs and around their television sets watching the good ole Oklahoma weather which can rip you a new one in a New York second, I slept like a baby after a warm bath. I drifted off to the sound of hail pelting the windows, wind whipping the trees and with the knowledge there was a good chance the basement was flooding. It's not because I have a brave heart, nor is my faith so great as to have no fear, but rather I've brushed up against death and know that you can be in the eye of the storm and not know it because danger is lurking around every corner and often is hidden in plain sight. Every second of life has the potential to be just as dangerous as the next,regardless of how it looks. Life is too short to live it fussing and fretting, stewing and stowing things you can't change. Trust me on this, you are just as protected when things look really bad, as you are when you feel all safe, warm and cozy. Storm or no storm, it's all in His control. Knowing it's all the same has helped me worry less and sleep more. Ahh, even the darkest of clouds have a shadow of a silver lining.