My seven-year-old daughter is terrified of thunderstorms. Every night when I’m tucking my sweet Ella into bed, she will say, “Please watch the weatherman and come get me if it is windy, rainy or thundery.”
One day as we were walking into swim practice on a clear, picture-perfect day, I said, “I’m so thankful for the beautiful weather and sunshine.”
She agreed and added, “I like the storms too, Mom.”
“Then maybe you could sleep in your own bed when it storms!” I laughed.
“I like the storms because afterwards God makes a beautiful rainbow,” she said, “and everything starts to grow again.”
I was shocked at her wisdom. Most of all, I was a very proud mom because I knew she was learning an important life lesson.
Storms are a part of life. They unexpectedly blow into our lives and leave us tattered and torn. When they finally end, we must pick up the pieces and rebuild. Being a Christian isn’t a promise from God that nothing bad will ever happen; however, being a Christian is what helps us rebuild after we have experienced our own personal storms.
When my daughter was three, I became pregnant with our second child. My husband and I went to our first prenatal appointment with much excitement and a list of questions ranging from prenatal vitamins to when I could fly during my pregnancy. It’s amazing how you forget this stuff from the first time!
During the ultrasound, a perplexed look came across my doctor’s face. After what seemed like an eternity, she told me I had a “missed miscarriage”. My heart sank. I couldn’t talk or cry. I was numb.
My body never recognized the miscarriage. Two weeks later, I had to undergo a D&C on our seventh wedding anniversary. I didn’t think it was fair. We have a loving, Christian home. We’re good people. Why? I felt empty and desolate. The sadness hurt. I wondered if anything would ever be the same again.
It wasn’t easy, but we rebuilt after our storm by praying, thanking God for our many blessings, and seeking the support of family and friends. I was reminded that my life experiences, including the destructive storms, determine who I am. The rebuilding process required strength and patience, but a rainbow did follow. We were blessed with our son.
Our storms give each of us a unique story. I pray that when you find yourself in the midst of a storm, you will remember that a rainbow follows. After the rainbow, everything grows.
“Consider it pure joy…whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4
Without the miscarriage (a horrible life storm), we wouldn't have our sweet son (the rainbow).
The Conversation: Think of one of your life’s storms. After you gave yourself time to grieve and/or heal (which could take months or years, depending on the storm), did a rainbow follow? Please share your stories!
Oh well, I am here with tears in my eyes AGAIN after reading your post … surprise, surprise … LOL!!!
I am so grateful and thankful for having learned this lesson in life. Like all of us, I also did have lots of “storm moments” in my life and the rainbows following it were absolutely God’s Gifts.
As far as miscarriage go, I also had a 11 weeks one while trying for our second kid. Adam had just left on a working trip to Japan and it was devastating to say the least.
But God already had His Angels (friends or ours) lined up to help, support and be with me at that moment.
It sure was not easy, but going through this process I felt extremely blessed by the lesson learned with it … GOD is the ONE in control of everything, NOT ME!!!
You see, I always dreamed in having a little girl and after having Leo I did a lot of researches trying to find out what could “I” do to have a girl next. I read “How to Choose the Sex of Your Baby” and did everything I needed to do in order to increase the chances of having a girl. I thought “I” was the one CONTROLLING the situation.
Oh Lord, I was SOOOOOOOOO wrong …
3 or 4 months later, out of the blue and not expected at all, I found out I was pregnant again and GOD was the one who chose to bless me with my Adorable Dreamed Little Girl – Celina.
I would say this was a DOUBLE RAINBOW … what a blessing!!!
Loved it Mandy … THANKS!!!
Thank you for sharing with us Mandy. You’re a blessing for many of us.
You made me think of one of the biggest storms I had in my life: having a miscarriage in 2003 that saved my life. God wanted me to stay in this world 🙂 I got pregnant that year, and on the fifth week something wasn’t right. I went to the doctor and the ultrasound showed a lot of tissue. I had to undergo a D&C, and my husband was traveling. I felt devastated… all by myself, and so mad and my husband… My hormones were crazy, and I didn’t know why I was behaving that way. It turned out I had a probable cancer insitu (cancer that doesn’t develop into a stage). Praise the Lord, it was very scary and I couldn’t get pregnant for a year. Didn’t need chemo or any treatment. After that, I got pregnant again. At the first day of my second trimester I had to undergo an emergency appendectomy… and a cancer insitu tumor was found in the appendix. I was, once again, so scare, mad frustrated. I had lost 20 lbs in 3 months and I didn’t know if my baby was ok. I asked God for a sign, and in one of the several ultrasounds that I had, the ultrasound technician told me: “Can you see what your daughter is doing?”. With her right hand, my little daughter was making the “V” of peace and victory. After that, I thanked God and trusted Him my life, her life and our future. Today, she is a very healthy and happy girl. God blessed me with another child, a happy son who came to complete our happiness. My kids, my husband -who stood next to me all this time- and God were and are my rainbow that shows me, that no matter what, if you have faith in God, all these trials and tests are just opportunities to get closer to Him. I think those storms allow the water to come down to us to wash us, clean our eyes so we can see better where God wants us to go and what He wants from us, in the light of His sight. With each storm in my life, I get a little more of His divine grace, His divine mercy and His divine love to live my life in the way He wants me to live it.
God bless you and your loving family Mandy.
“They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them”. Psalm 112:7
Liz — What an amazing story you have! Thank you so much for sharing, you a blessing. And, I love that Psalm verse 🙂
Wow. That is awesome. I love hearing your testimony. What a wonderful story to hear before bed. Thank you for sharing. Your truly blessed.
Seneca
Mandy you are such an inspiration. I just want to briefly share our story — no, not about a miscarriage, but about the birth of a beautiful baby girl. Our unmarried daughter found out she was pregnant on her 21st birthday. It was the hardest thing she had ever faced, and she struggled to tell us. We responded first in the flesh — hurt, angry, disbelief, and sadly, without acceptance. After praying and crying all night before the Lord, He reminded us that we had been praying “whatever it takes, Lord, please draw our daughter back to you.” He told us that His “whatever” was the precious baby our daughter was carrying. We realized what a mistake we had made “in the flesh” and asked her forgiveness. We helped her in every way we could. She had plans on her 21st birthday to go out partying — those plans changed, and we are so blessed that she left that lifestyle and is now a wonderful mommy to our precious granddaughter. That was 4 years ago and she just recently celebrated her 25th birthday with family, sober, healthy, and happy. We never know how God is going to answer a prayer. While this may not have been the conventional way, we know God used a bad situation for good and He drew our daughter back to him.
Thanks for your sharing and love Mandy. I wish you were here so Brooke could learn from your wisdom. God Bless You!
Denise — Thank you so much for sharing your story. How wonderful!! I found Brooke on Facebook and sent her a friend request, I would love to catch-up with her 🙂 PLEASE stay in touch!