“Every storm runs out of rain.” —-Maya Angelou

My life has been littered with terrible storms. Some of them brought rain and others were storms of great personal loss. There were storms that changed the direction of my life. In every instance I felt overwhelmed and frightened to the point of feeling as though I had lost all control over my destiny. In those moments it was difficult to believe that one day the sun would shine again and that I would soon embrace happiness with intense joy. 

I suppose that each of us endure such storms. Where I live fifty miles from the Gulf Coast dangerous storms have been recurrent events that devastate the lives of those who bear the brunt of wind and unrelenting rain. These times have been incredibly frightening but for the most part the impact of their damage has been relatively mild for me. Nonetheless I understand the serendipity of such things and wonder if it is only a matter of time before my home and sense of security will one day bear the brunt of the winds and the floods that return with great regularity. 

In life we each face moments that require great courage and a willingness to believe that we will survive no matter how horrific the damage may be. As a child I navigated through a state of depression after the death of my father. Somehow he continued to inspire me even in his absence. He had chided me shortly before he died, insisting that I had a future that would be wonderful as long as I gave my all to learning and working hard. Somehow that message would resonate with me for all of my life. I got past my sorrow by striving to be the kind of person that my father had believed me to be. I found strength that I did not know I had. I saw that he understood me better than I understood myself. His voice and encouragement would take me through storm after storm with a growing sense of my abilities to overcome whatever challenged me. 

When my mother first became ill with bipolar disorder I felt overwhelmed. The woman who had been our family’s heroine was broken. I was not yet twenty one years old and I had no experience with mental illness. I had no idea what to do and neither did the adults whose help I attempted to enlist. They were as frightened by my mother’s state of mind as I was. With nobody to rely on other than myself I took a deep breath and became an adult overnight. As I navigated through the next forty years I would find the courage and the wisdom to keep my mother as well as possible. Even the storms of her illness would break now and again into moments of sunshine and great joy. 

In 2017, I watched Houston and surrounding areas literally go under water when five days of incessant rain pounded the city. The damage was so severe and so stunning that I wondered if the place that I have known and loved would finally be doomed. Instead I saw the courage and the generosity of the citizens rebuild what had seemingly been forever destroyed. The storm brought out the best in us just as it did for a during the Covid 19 pandemic, at least for a time. 

The world still has so many problems. There are wars that have brought more destruction and death. There are fires that have burned people’s dreams and sense of security. Hurricanes have destroyed traditions and comforts. Drought and famine have left people starving for food and kindness. As decent and moral human beings rushing in to save lives is an instinctive behavior. When the most horrible things happen we do what is needed, ignoring the cost in dollars and cents. We empathize and rebuild without compensation and as we do such things we provide the will to continue to those who have suffered inestimable loss. We become the sunshine after the storm. 

I’m feeling shaky in this moment. We have a “mad king” upending lives and creating uncertainty in the United States and across the globe. He is as destructive as a storm. He is playing with lives like a little boy rearranging the miniature figures of a toy battlefield. Sadly, the people he is affecting are quite real and for them and those of us watching in horror his lack of concern for either the intended or unintended consequences of his actions are falling into pits of despair. His haphazard decisions have been as frightening as a raging hurricane toppling buildings and pushing rushing water into the walls of our homes. 

We feel frightened and unmoored in this moment. We are drowning in our powerlessness and yet deep down inside we are confident that we somehow have the resources to set things right. Perhaps we cannot wait for the rain to stop. We have to protect each other in the moment. We must become the heroes arriving in boats to carry our fellow Americans out of danger. 

In such times as this I hear my father’s voice speaking to my soul. I know that he has been preparing me for this for all of my life. He has shown me again and again how resilient and capable I am. I smile and understand my assignment. I will not hide and fold. With all of the millions of heroes in this world I know that together we will lasso the sun and bring it back to quell the storm.