Monday, July 1, 2013

When it Rains; It Pours

Imagine a beach. You are on this beach. Basking in it's vast beauty and soaking the sun into your tanish-pink skin. All around you are beautiful palm trees and there is sand between your toes. You can hear the rush of the water smacking against the sand as the tide comes in, then suddenly; you hear a blood curdling scream. A scream that you can't describe to others, but try to in the most vivid way possible. You jump up from this oasis and you see a figure, in the water, struggling to stay afloat. You run towards the figure in hopes to save it, but as you keep running, it seems as though you aren't getting any closer---the figure continues to shrill and you are starting to feel hopeless and then you realize that what you are trying to save is a mirror image of yourself. This utopia of perfection is merely an idealistic image you created in your mind to erase all of the chaos in your own life.

I don't know who can relate to this, but I'm sure we all have an escape of some sort. I like to call these our sanctuaries. There are days where you just want to crawl up in a ball, fall asleep and never wake up, but instead; you grab that book that changed your outlook on life or you go on a walk on your favorite trail and nestle yourself in that special spot on the trail where no one can see you. We all have them. Whether they are the things I described above or your family, faith, friends or church. Our sanctuaries are our safe havens. The things we turn to when we are drowning in the realities of life. If you don't have a sanctuary, you should get one. They will be your savior when everything around you is crashing down like a waterfall. 

It seems as though whenever one thing goes wrong, it doesn't end there. The one wrong thing multiplies into a bigger mess then you can handle. Instead of giving up hope and letting the overwhelmingly powerful wave of failure drag you under; grab the steering wheel of your ship and learn how to sail through the storms of life.  Don't lose touch of reality, if everything is crashing down; sail on harder, push yourself, pray, ask for help, swallow your pride and hold on tightly because storms want to win, but they won't if you face them head on and not only dabble in the water, but get completely drenched.

Because When It Rains; It Pours and it's probably a good idea that you bring your Ship :)