“Trust in Him with all your heart and He will guide your path." ~ Proverbs 3:5-6
DAY 1: It was coming … quicker than expected; winds rustled the
trees. By midmorning it blew dust off
the road and tossed anything light as "HURRICANE" whispers grew
louder.
Amanda took a break from her crude home office and drove to
the ocean. She needed to hear her sweet
sound, feel her soft touch, find solace in her happier memories.
She’d been beaten and mistreated for years. Left without self-esteem, self-confidence, and
self-respect, Amanda had been hurt by a man who’d vowed to love, honor, and protect
her.
Amanda had forgiven him; but never herself.
She’d gone through this same ritual every day for months, watching
the ocean’s beauty, heeding sounds that brought repose, praying for God to bring
her some inner peace.
The waves began crashing more violently; a reminder of her
abusive past: anger, hatred, fear. Every
day she told herself that this will be the day that she’ll go home and see a
different face in the mirror. But it
never happens.
Home facing the mirror, Amanda once again saw only the
shell of a woman. Absent was the woman
who once loved life, wanted career success, and strived to be the best.
Day 2: So much
destruction. Sand covered the ocean’s walkways;
raging winds had savaged some of the houses and the end of the pier. The beach was damaged but not broken;
determined to be the place where people would return to relax and enjoy good
times.
Two Months Later: The seashore was returning to its pre-hurricane
splendor. Sidewalks and walkways were
clear again. The pier and homes were
under reconstruction.
Amanda saw the ocean in a new light - from the eyes of
Someone bigger than she was; something that’d caused so much damaged yet hadn’t
skipped a beat. “Why couldn’t she bounce
back like the ocean did after a storm? Why was she continuing to let that man destroy
her,” she wondered.
She rose from the sand and drove back home. Amanda went straight upstairs and stared into her
mirror image. She saw her old self again
– the strong woman who didn’t take anyone’s crap; the woman who knew she
deserved to be loved.
One whose prayers had been answered.
By God’s grace, the woman looking back at her was confident
and independent. She would take back her
life and live it to the fullest, never taking herself for granted again. She’d live like the ocean; bouncing back
better than before.
