Earlier today, I foolishly ignored a tornado warning and thought I would have time to walk back from Union Station to our building. The trip usually takes seven minutes and I honestly thought I would be able to squeeze it in before having to shut myself indoors. I have never experienced an tornado outdoors before and fortunately, DC did not experience a tornado today. However, both rain and wind reached their maximum power on my short walk. They were both powerful and caused the streets to flood, a state of nature to erupt amongst those of us left on the street (good ol' polic sci reference) and a suspension of status-quo when it comes to the idea of crosswalks in contemporary American society. I cannot put into words how frightening the experience was. Adrenaline was racing through my body and I instantly searched for shelter. It was so horrible I came close to knocking on the doors of people I have never met and asking for the protection of their homes. Fortunately, I safely made it into the supermarket down the street from our building. In Ohio, I remembered being in our dorm's basement for a while in the sole tornado I have experienced before. I didn't want to experience this in the supermarket lobby. I looked over and saw a lady from my office with an umbrella who intended to make a break for it. We have never spoken before, but I have seen her many times and always given her a smile. "Wait, I'm coming with you!" I shouted and her response was "it's a small umbrella...keep close!"We dashed through the worst of the storm and jumped over two impressively large puddles to make our way safely into the office and also soaking wet. Let me clarify that jumping into a pool would not have made me more drenched than I was this afternoon. Fortunately, a male intern let me change into his extra shirt and the many cups of warm water I had made the recovery sweet. I honestly sit here today in a spirit of dumbfound luck. Adrenaline rushes always make things fun in the moment and I certainly felt like Jason Bourne while running through DC, but I look back at the storm with a sense of fright and sit in appreciation of my safety.
Life, like this afternoon's storm, can often seem overwhelming and too fast-paced to keep up with. There are no shortage of issues racing through my mind and worries only seem to multiply off of one another by the day. I have most recently been reflecting on the importance of trusting God through the ever-changing adversities in life. Ultimately, everything get puts into perspective through prayer and contemplation of the bigger picture. Adversity will come..sometimes we can even see it coming miles ahead of schedule. I don't believe trusting in God equates to an end to the rough journeys ahead. I also am not expecting God to give me any specific answers to the many, many questions I have for him now. Our relationship will deepen through my learned experiences along the path, but I must remember to keep Him close. All obstacles are possible to overcome with His strength. Unexpected happenings are occurring in my own life and there is no obvious result in sight for many of them. I see beauty, happiness and pain all as legitimate outcomes of what I am experiencing now. A closeness to Christ strengthens me and gives me lenses to view these new challenges through. Trust is what I struggle with most and also my greatest asset.
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