"It's Raining in Baltimore"

Anyone who knows me or reads Day 21 knows that I don't like flying. In case you don't, it may put things in perspective if I tell you I once drove from North Carolina to California simply in order to avoid flying there. For anyone who can relate, I bet I can name something you enjoy less than flying: turbulence. I know the feeling that creeps up in control freaks like me when the plane rumbles and then drops 20 feet like it was nothing. However, I can tell you that there is one feeling even worse than turbulence: the dread of it. When the pilot comes over the speaker and says, "This is the captain speaking. We are nearing Baltimore and seem to be heading into a storm. We will be experiencing some turbulence, so please remain in your seats with your seatbelts fastened until we give the all-clear." Ugh, I can feel it now... It's amazing what people will do to avoid rough patches. Me? I will drive over 3000 miles for 3 days to avoid a 5 hour flight. But what do you do when you are already in the plane? Sometimes we act like the turbulence in life is so worth avoiding that we would rather take a longer, more taxing route to get to our destination. I have to imagine if I were God I would be annoyed by this. After all, struggle is a part of life - how do you avoid life? The answer, of course, is that you don't. So, what do I do when I know the turbulence is coming? I pray. Out loud and out proud, I pray. Right before the rough patch, I close my eyes, hold on tight, and trust that God's got this. And you know what? The turbulence is terrible. But when I let go and open my eyes, I see the clouds clear and the plane settles and I can see a clear day over Baltimore as we come in for a smooth landing. Daddy, Thank you for life. Thank you for the ups and the downs, and for entrusting us with struggle and seeing us through to the other side of the rough times. Help us to fully rely on you as we anticipate, endure, and recover from life's turbulence. Be our source and our firm foundation. May we not back down from the storm, as it is usually the storm that gets us closer to where we need to be. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen Romans 5: 3 Moreover [let us also be full of joy now!] let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance. 4 And endurance (fortitude) develops maturity of character (approved faith and tried integrity). And character [of this sort] produces [the habit of] joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation. 5 Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us.