While driving through Montana I was taken by the expansive view such a vast landscape allows a person to behold.  It is almost as if you can see the curvature of the Earth as the land disappears over the horizon.  I was able to watch as thunderstorms in the distance moved across the sky & I realized that I was witnessing something special.  I was standing outside the storm.  I could see both the front of the storm as well as the end, a perspective which the people who were directly underneath were unable to see.

I was reminded of life & the personal storms we encounter.  There are times when it seems as if the cloud above us will never dissipate.  Maybe we were able to see the front as it made it way closer but now that we are in the midst of all the chaos and darkness an end is nowhere in sight.

Many things in life can cause us to feel depressed, sad or hopeless but just like the Earth needs rain in order to flourish, so do we need these moments of darkness to strengthen us in times of warmth & light.  We are stronger for having overcome our pain & hardships.  We are able to use them as lessons which we can build upon.

Not always are we able to stand upon the horizon & watch the storm as it passes in the distance.  Eventually everyone will experience some bad weather in one form or another and as storms do, it too shall pass.  Every storm comes to an end.   As we find ourselves in the middle of our own storm, remember that with the passing of the darkness will come warmth and sunshine, a hope for better days.