April showers bring May flowers. As it is in the natural it is in the spirit. We got a lot of rain in Georgia during the month of April. Now as we are a few days into May, the spring weather has surfaced. It has been absolutely beautiful every day.

finding joy in the journey

Well, as I look back over the past month, it was pretty rainy in my personal life. I faced a lot of physical and emotional challenges. I injured my back during yoga, so I was in a lot of pain for about a week. I was unable to workout for almost two weeks.

I also began processing a lot of emotional baggage that has been lingering with me. I had some things I haven’t wanted to deal with, and since you can only suppress your feelings for so long, it all began to unravel.

When the unraveling process begins, its really scary. It feels like opening pandora’s box. You don’t know where its all going to lead and you don’t know what you’re going to find. This requires a great deal of faith. Faith in the journey. Faith in knowing that whatever comes your way, you’re equipped to handle it.

Aside from the fear of the unknown, there’s the fear of not knowing how long it’s going to last. How long am I going to be in this season of my life? This rainy season. Unfortunately, when you’re in the midst of your storm, it feels like it’s never going to end.

As the end of April approached, things started to change. After about a week and a half of constant rain and cool temperatures, the rain began to clear out. I began to see some sunlight peaking through the clouds.

Just as the rain has passed and the days are so beautiful, I have to believe that my spiritual life will mimic what has transpired in the natural. I’m an eternal optimist. No matter how bad things appear to be, I always believe it’s going to work out. I heard someone say, “it will all work out in the end. If it hasn’t worked out, it’s not the end.”

It’s important that I learn from every journey. I’m not at the end of this journey, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I’m gaining insights that are strengthening me.

Here are some insights I’ve gained so far.
  1. In everybody’s life a little rain must fall. When I’m going through hard times, I’m so quick to ask, “why” or “why me”. What I’m quickly reminded of is that we all go through things. Some people have greater challenges than others, but we ALL go through something. I’m comforted in knowing that I’m not alone.

  2. No matter how long it rains, the sun will always reappear. It can’t rain forever. In the old testament in the bible it rained for 40 days and 40 nights. That had to be horrendous, but it eventually came to an end. I’m reassured by knowing my rainy season isn’t here to stay. I don’t know the expiration date, but I know it will come to an end.

  3. What you resist persists.  When I’m hurting, I have a tendency to try to behave as if I’m okay. That is especially the case when I don’t think I’m going to be able to handle it. But what I’m learning is the more I try to resist feeling the pain, the more it continues to surface. When I’m hurting, I try to give myself permission to feel it – for a set amount of time. Maybe it’s a few minutes. When I’m really sad, I’ll give myself a full day. After that I have to move on. Otherwise, I stay stuck. Just giving myself permission to feel whatever it is I’m feeling I get past it much faster and much easier.

  4. You have to find joy in the journey. No matter how bad it feels, there is always joy in the journey. Maybe you suffered a tragedy, but that tragedy brought you closer to your family. Perhaps you found out how strong and resilient you are; or maybe it brought you closer to God. The challenge is to find that joy. We often think we won’t be happy until we get to the end of our journey, but joy can be found in the process. Happiness is based on what’s “happening” in our lives. Joy comes from within.

So, this is where I am right now. I’m not sure how much longer this season of my life will continue. But I do know I will get through it. I will continue to seek the greater purpose of this experience and remind myself that this too shall pass. In due season, THIS TOO SHALL PASS!    

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