Lonely Caterpillar
 

Beauty in the Storm

It’s no secret that I HATE the cold. I also unfortunately LOVE autumn, I think it’s beautiful, all the colours and the freshness and the changing of the season. It’s like a nice crisp fresh new start.

As I was driving the kids to school last week, it was a very windy day and all the leaves were blowing everywhere, almost like there was an orange and red tornado wrapping itself around the car. Had I been walking outside in it though it wouldn’t have been so beautiful. It would have been cold, I’d have dust in my eyes from the leaves, I would be so focused on getting where I needed to go I wouldn’t be looking up and I would miss the beauty altogether.

Life can sometimes be full of storms, in the midst of them it feels like they will never end, and it’s easy to be consumed by them and to miss what’s going on around us. I know I am guilty of this. I also know that there are always people watching how we navigate our way through our storms and often that’s how they find a way to navigate through theirs. This has been very true for me in that past two years. I’ve watched friends find their way through tough times to find myself in the same position and asking for their advice, advice that I wish they didn’t have to go through the experience to be able to give but also advice that was invaluable, and then for people to ask the same advice of me as they face the same storm further down the line. As much as we can look really strong in the midst of things often if we look beyond the overcoat and snow boots we see that there is someone really frail ready to blow away with the next gust of wind, no matter how strong someone appears it’s worth reaching out just to be sure they are anchored.

One thing I know for certain is that without the storms, I wouldn’t have the strength I have today. The storms toughen us up, give us a story to tell, an understanding of things others don’t have. One of my biggest storms was my Dad going to prison when I was 12; the consequences of which created storms for the next 10 years. The storm was hard at the time. A lot of the time I didn’t look up and take in all the beauty that was still around me, but I am stronger for it. That storm shaped my life but for the better. It gave me the call on my life to want to do prison work, to want to work with kids and to study the degree I am studying. Without that storm I wouldn’t be who I am today and so I wouldn’t change that storm for anything.

Remember in the midst of the storm, the bumps and scars are what make us who we are, they turn us from caterpillar to butterfly.