Divine Calm in Life’s Storms

Tom Medlar

We encounter many kinds of storms as we journey through this world, for some, they are more

destructive than for others. We naturally react with fear, and worry, and anger over why it must

be this way.

God knows we are passing through a fallen world, and He asks us to try and see things as He

does, or to trust that He is in control, and will guide us all the way.

As a psychotherapist, I work with clients who live in nursing homes. An elderly man who I will

call Alex, recently said to me “I grew up in a household of abuse, and I learned how to find

peace as a result.”

Alex spoke of sustained years of physical abuse by his mother towards him, and lesser towards

his younger brother. Alex learned over time to recognize how his mother was ill and wounded,

and that her battle was an inner one, and was not truly aimed at or caused by him.

With a series of questions and comments I sought to deepen the exploration of how he had

arrived at such a penetrating understanding.

“For a period of five years when I was growing up, we had many soldiers who were returning

from WWII stay with us at our house. They were each going to study at a Catholic seminary in

Boston so they could become priests. Each one of them had seen battle and many horrors, and

now each one of them wanted to serve God and serve others,” Alex said.

“They could see that my mother was not in control of herself, and they would make it a point to

take me and my brother out for walks, and they would talk to us about the things they had seen

and learned in battle.” “I knew my mother was also in a battle and it was not really about me, I

was a kind of collateral damage of her damage,” he said.

“I think that they helped me to see that I could find peace in myself even if I was in the midst of

a battle.” “I mean, I don’t think that was what they meant, or what they were trying to say; they

were just trying to get on with their lives, you know.” “What I really believe is that God had

touched me and sent me these soldiers to help me learn; they made such a difference for me.”

Alex offered examples of how he had been able to stay calm and avoid conflicts with peers in his

adolescence, and also when he served in the Army; and how time and again others seemed

annoyed as well as mystified by his peacefulness. “I think I was given a touch of the Divine, and

I think that helped me to connect with a bit of that ‘peace that exceeds understanding,’ as it says

in the Bible.” (1)

Over many years I have worked with a great number of clients who have endured, or who are

now enduring the most severe types of life storms: disease, disfigurement, disability, abuse,

abandonment, and countless disappointments dripping like raindrops from the branches of a

barren and lonely tree.

Innumerable times, I have asked clients undergoing severe storms, how do you survive? How do

you cope? More than ninety percent of the time, the person points upwards an index finger, and

says, ‘God.’

The providence of God surrounds all of the battles and storms of life, and He has placed a ‘touch

of the Divine’ in the deepest recess of our heart. We don’t reach that inner calm through practice

of human techniques, but by keeping our heart open even while caught in a storm, so that He

might shelter and guide us, in His way.

When a new storm intrudes into our life, we might wrongly assume it will now always be this

way. But even though storms will arrive, they will also pass away, or we might simply find

adequate bits of shelter and moments of peace to help us manage.

(1) Philippians, 4: 5-7 “Let your gentle spirit be known to all people. The Lord is near. Do

not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with

thanksgiving let your requests be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses

all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.’

Passing Gloom

Tom Medlar

Rain clouds rush in,

racing crowds from afar,

a meteor isobar.

Sky ripped wide with spears of fire.

Frightened eyes steal a secret peek,

To see who makes this darkness dire.

A towering titan appears to loom over startled rooms.

Drums of doom and fractured light

Send birds away in frightened flight.

Gone as quick as came,

The world outside seems the same.

Darkness breaks apart,

Bright sparkles everywhere dart.

Fragrant breezes flower with verdant bloom.

Gripped fears ease, dispelling passing gloom.