I walked outside well before daylight and heard a thunderstorm booming in the distance. Not uncommon this time of year. Storms…

I sat down, got a cup of coffee, and pulled up the news on my phone. Looked like we might actually have two tropical systems in the Gulf at the same time next week. ¹ Fun stuff, but, tis the season. Storms…

Hours later I flew out of Mobile on my way to Minnesota, with a quick stop in Charlotte. ² We bounced and rolled our way through a storm on the way to altitude. I was glad my wife wasn’t on board. Storms…

Storms are often more about God than us.

I figured between Mobile and Charlotte I would have time to type up an encouraging post that I could publish once I was on the ground in North Carolina. So, I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my photos to see if something would speak to me. Almost immediately one stood out. Storms…

Coincidence? Hardly. That’s just how it works in Shane Town. God puts thoughts, ideas, and stories in that ADD riddled mind He gave me. ³ Then He confirms them saying, That’s the one, that’s the story someone needs to hear, and I need you to tell it! …. It’s really cool.

Here’s the thing. Years ago all that in-flight bouncing and bobbing would have unnerved me…and the two sideways rolls would have definitely got me…but today I barely blinked. I just double checked my seat belt, and hung on.

With God with us, we’re gonna be just fine.

Truth is, I expected it. You don’t fly through storms without feeling them, and there were storms all around that morning. A high probability we were gonna bounce. But now I have 51 years of countless flights. Most have been smooth, some were not, but so far…I’ve survived every single one.

While tragic crashes do happen, they are very rare in my country. To date I don’t personally know anyone who has ever perished in a plane crash, due to a storm or otherwise. So, chances are I might bounce and I might roll, but it won’t last, and I’m gonna land just fine.

Life is no different. Storms are gonna come and they can be scary. So, expect them. Worrying won’t change anything. We have to go through them, not around. And sometimes the best we can do is check our seat belt (Faith) and hang on. God is always with us and in the end, we’re gonna be just fine. Life’s storms have taught me this.

Get In The Boat! Do Your Part!

From Nose to Toes!

 

Shane

 

 

Shane Hale is a redeemed & re-purposed professional baseball player and former corporate sales executive. Shane, his wife Michelle, and their three sons live in Mobile, Alabama, USA, where he works as a Realtor. While seeking God’s plan for his life in the summer of 2014, God told Shane to start writing. Today he shares his faith to encourage and inspire others to seek His plan for their lives as well. Check out his blog at http://www.the1sixproject.com.

 

 

Footnotes: (1) Gulf of Mexico, along the southern coast of the United States. (2) Mobile, Alabama, Charlotte, North Carolina, both in the United States. (3) ADD refers to Attention Deficit Disorder.

Pictures: Banner: (1) Distant Thunderstorm, photo by Greg Willis, 2006, Wikipedia Commons. (2) Why All The Umbrellas, photo provided by Shane Hale, 2017. (3) Seeing God in the Storm, from an article of the same name by Shana Schutte, 12-1-2020, WisdomHunters.com.