Let's say that life's challenges and problems are like visitors who suddenly show up with no advance notice. What do you do?

You do the best you can with what you've got.

And we keep a low profile, welcoming everyone as a neighbor...

Writer Dennis D. J Haan know this and he manages to capture the moment using a metaphor. He writes:

The National Weather Service advises that if you’re ever caught out in the open during a severe lightning storm, you should kneel down, bend forward, and put your hands on your knees. Then, if lightning strikes nearby, your body will be less likely to serve as a conductor. Maximum safety depends on keeping a low physical profile.

You may ask, "And what then...?" Yes, it's hard to think of someone else when you are loaded with "stuff" as it is.

Yes, we’ll get drenched in the driving rains of adversity, and sometimes its fierce winds will buffet us so severely that we’ll almost be swept off our feet. With each blinding flash of lightning we may be strongly tempted to get up and run.

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Dear Ms. 4th Grade Teacher,

This morning, I saw Daddy crying. Mommy said Daddy was very sick but he was brave.

Mommy said Daddy had something growing in his brain. And Daddy also lost his job and someting called insurance.

She said we need to be brave like Daddy and do the best we can. I asked Mom if Daddy had a cold. She said yes something like that. Mommy says that all things happen for a reason. I asked Mommy what a reason was.

Mommy got quiet. She said that reasons were like storms.  She said sometimes you see a storm coming and sometimes you don't. You do what you have to do when a storm comes to visit. And you just smile and things will seem better.

Teacher can you tell me when a reason comes to visit me the next time? I want to make my Mommy and Daddy happy when they see me smile.

I love you Ms. Teacher.

Love,

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