I hoped to have my house insulated sometime this winter. The contractor was to have completed the job in January, but maybe the wintery and snowy conditions caused delays, plus they possibly could not use the foam insulation in the freezing temperatures. 

When I signed the contract and handed over the down payment, the workers would have had easy access to the house's exterior. That certainly changed when a deep blanket of snow covered the ground around the house. I wasn’t too concerned about the contractors working in the snow until I realized that “things” were growing beneath – beneath the snow. 

A flowerbed extends the entire front of the house. The bed contains hundreds of perennials, and those flowers, unseen because of the snow, are emerging from the ground. If the contractors come to insulate the house before the snow melts, I'll give them some hearty words of caution, "Do NOT trample the flowers.” Then again, how can they avoid stepping on the flowers if they lay hidden from sight?

We're emerging from the winter world that was covered with over a foot of snow, deeper in drifted areas. It was freezing cold on our faces, hands, and any exposed skin, plus the wind made it feel much worse. People and animals struggled to survive the weather, as evidence of the increased number of visitors to our bird feeders. That's the world we’ve lived in the past couple of months: cold and windy with snow, ice, and sleet.

Under that blanket of snow, however, another world flourishes that we haven’t seen. Despite rock, hard, frozen ground, life stirs that reveals itself as the snow melts. Under the white canopy, all kinds of spring flowers pop through the earth: daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, and many, many more plants. Even if they have not yet burst through the ground and up into the snow, the plants are thriving. Even shrubs and trees that appear dormant are actively growing new roots. There’s a lot of life and activity beneath the snow. That’s the other world we don't see. Thus, we live in two worlds, the one we see and experience, and the one that secretly grows beneath. 

Life is much the same. Both stormy and pleasant days make up our daily lives, but we are not talking about the weather. Rather, it's our lives of happiness, joyfulness, fun, adventure, sickness, accidents, busyness, stress, family disputes, and more. We try our best to avert the bad days. We steer clear as best possible, yet storms come, and they sometimes devastate us – like trying to sail on the sea in a hurricane. We make a mighty effort to avoid getting tossed to and fro or dashed against the rocks, but sometimes it’s unavoidable. People may try to come to our rescue, but most of the time, we have to do our best to survive the storm – and thankfully, we do survive. With beaten bodies, minds overwhelmed, and our souls tested to the limit, sunny days eventually return. 

There’s another world, however, that we often don’t see. It lays secretly beneath. It’s not that we don’t want to see that world, but the storms sometimes don’t give us a break to notice what happens underneath – inside ourselves. What happens inside us as the tsunami hits and then the retreating tide carries us out to sea? What happens when tragedy topples us? What happens when life attempts to drown us? 

Well, just as those little flowers thrive under the snow and blowing winds of winter, God shapes our inner being as the storms of life rage around us. We often cannot see the benefit of the storm because we’re too busy fighting to survive – to keep our heads above water. We can’t fathom the good that comes when storms overwhelm us, yet, the seeds of life secretly grow deep beneath the storm.

Just as a raging storm brings destruction, it also brings new and fresh life. As the desert lays barren and dry, it comes to life with unfathomable beauty because of the storm. Beauty comes in the aftermath. The same is true of the storms in our lives if we only take time to discover them. The Apostle Paul wrote about the good of storms in his letter to the Church at Rome.

³ Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

-Romans 5:3-5 (NIV)

Did you get that? Paul tells us that when the storms of life hit, seeds of perseverance, character, and hope sprout and grow within us. Because of the storm, these new seeds of strength and vigor grow. We need the storm so that perseverance, character, and hope can thrive. These seeds do NOT grow without the storm – the adversities of life. 

Let’s see what James, Jesus’ half-brother, has to say about the benefits of storms.

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

- James 1:2-4 (NIV)

Does James say to water the trials of your life so you can grow in perseverance to become mature and complete?  Yes!  James tells us to love the trials. Count them as joy! Is he nuts? No! James witnessed how Jesus weathered the storms and how Jesus used the storms to His advantage.

One more. Peter’s mouth often resulted in some of his life's storms. Peter writes in his letter.

⁶ In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

-1 Peter 1:6-7 (NIV)

Peter tells us that suffering grows the seed of faith, which is imperishable. Fire cannot destroy faith. Instead, fire refines faith to purify it. Peter says the storms we face toss us around like a bobber afloat on the stormy sea, but those storms provide the fertile growing conditions in making us more like Jesus. Greatly rejoice in those trials, because our faithfulness results in praise, glory and honor as our faith reveals Jesus Christ.  

When the next storm irritates or overwhelms us, let’s see it differently. Let's see the storm the way God sees it. It may hurt us and even harm us, yet it serves to sprout a good seed deep within or possibly adds nourishment to a previously sprouted seed. Yes, the storms rage in life, but beneath the surface, seeds are growing, and when they emerge and become visible, we will see beauty unlike anything previously observed or experienced. 

So, let’s not complain about storms. Let's try to see beyond the storm. Let's search to discover the seed, the sprout, the plant that eventually emerges with all its beauty. Those are the things that secretly grow beneath.

Love you & God Bless,

 Kenny