This Too Will Pass
A rainbow after the storm
Years ago a friend of mine was pregnant with her first baby. As most expectant mothers, she was suffering through morning sickness. Knowing this, I asked her how she was feeling.
She said, “Well, I feel sick, but I just keep remembering what you say.”
“What I say?” I asked wondering what comment I made that was going to come back to haunt me.
I was relieved when she answered, “This too will pass.”
“Oh,” I smiled, “well, it will. I promise. You won’t be sick forever.”
I had not consciously made this simple sentence my mantra, but it was a line that I used to get through tough times. For me, pregnancy is one of my tough times. I do not function well when I am nauseous and vomiting, which is how I am for about half of my pregnancies. It obviously has not stopped me from wanting children. It is literally a short time in your life. However at that time, you think it will never end. You cannot remember when you felt good. It is easy to let your emotions and bad memory take over. It is easy to wallow in your misery. I think it is smarter to focus on the end product. Focusing on your child and taking comfort that he/she must be developing well if you are sick are better ways to go through this tough time.
It is all perspective and attitude. This does not just pertain to pregnancy. Every one’s life goes through ups and downs. Right now the United States is going through a recession. It is really affecting some families in a negative way. You can get caught up in your problems. Or you can look forward to the future knowing that this too will pass. I realize that it does not change the present. When you are down, you are down. But it does change your focus. You can focus the negative or you can look for opportunities to learn something. Usually you will learn about yourself and/or your relationship with others. When you are going through a tough time, you really do find who your true friends are. You learn how you respond to being knocked down, literally or figuratively.
Can you see the second rainbow?
The other day we had a horrendous thunderstorm. The sky seemed so vicious as the thunder shook our windows and the lightning illuminated the entire house. I feared for our livestock. I thought for sure that a lightning bolt had struck something dead. This happened years ago to our prized bull calf. The wind and rain hit the house so hard that it reminded us all of Hurricane Ike last year. While you are experiencing a storm of this magnitude, it can be very frightening. You can wonder when will it ever go away or how long will it rain.
But just like everything else, the storm eventually blows over. The ground soaks up the rain. The mighty wind quiets to a zephyr. The sun breaks through the dark clouds. After this particular storm, I walked outside and saw a beautiful sight. Two full rainbows stretched out in front of our home. One was more faint than the other, but they both arched way over the treetops.
I could not help but think of Noah and God’s promise that accompanied the rainbow. I am sure that Noah had days where he wondered if the rain would ever stop falling. It did. Then I am sure that he wondered if the water would ever recede. It did, too.
As you are experiencing both the highs and lows of life, keep in mind that “This too will pass.” Having this attitude will help you to remember to enjoy the highs more and to get through the lows a little easier. I know that it helps me.
