Sunshine glistening off the trees, 75 degrees and the windows down riding around listening to some good music. Peace. Serenity. This is what I live for. Days where all of my worries are less than enough to make any sort of impact on my mood, where all of my troubles are merely a raindrop in an ocean of joy. Days where I’m certain that no matter what tomorrow holds, everything will be all right. These are the days I live for...

But today…

Today was none of that. This week was none of that.

Saturday night, I went through the set list one last time before our Sunday morning practice. With hope-filled eyes, I thought about where I could be today had I stubbornly not have accepted God's intervention in my life, and I thanked Him once again for blessing me with where He has placed me and also for giving me all of these amazing people as influences in my life. With hope-filled eyes I blinked myself to sleep resting easy in the peace of His presence. And with hope-filled eyes, I woke up and got ready for church Sunday morning. But as soon as I stepped outside, it was clear to me that this wasn't going to be any normal sunshiny day. The skies were dark, the clouds were ominous, and even with hope-filled eyes, there was a thick gloom laying heavy on my heart. And as the day progressed, it seemed like I was consistently being caught in the middle of some kind of a storm; a storm that was increasing in power, a storm ready to disable all that I am. A storm myself alone could not withstand.

Sure enough, later that night, the downpour came... of emotions, of tears, and of rain. As the week continued on, thunder struck, the floodgates opened, and the ground I stood so firmly on was shaken to its very core. I was shaken to my very core. Yet, with somewhat hope-filled eyes, I praised God this morning believing that there was no possible way this week could get any worse. But I guess that's why they call it an aftershock... because you don't see it coming. You're too busy cleaning up the piles of rubble that you've built your entire life upon to realize that the ground is still quaking... but at this point the damage is already done. What else can you do? Well, you see, its simple;

With hope-filled eyes, you rebuild.

I love sunshiny, 75 degree, windows down, and music up kind of days, but the truth is... the peace I get from these days is not weather permitted. We need storms. We desperately need them. Even if that means our entire lives are going to be wrecked into the ground. They grow us. They make us who we are. We are not always capable of seeing where and how our lives need to change. Sometimes we need complete and utter destruction to be able to tell what we would do differently. Sometimes God has a different plan; a better one; one that can't be met in the conditions we're living in now. Sometimes building from the ground up is the only logical way to renovate.

The truth is, storms are honest. They will take our seemingly perfect days and absolutely shatter everything we thought we could count on, all while tearing our heart to pieces at the same time.

But there's purpose found even in destruction. There's resurrection to be made in and through destruction. There's hope in these seemingly hopeless situations.

So, no matter what, even when it hurts, we can find our restoration. Even when it hurts like hell, we know that there is something beautiful that can made from the ashes of defeat. No matter who hurts us or what kind of storm we may face, our faith is in a God who can calm any storm with the sound of His voice. Thy will be done; whether it's sunshiny days and 75 degree weather or storm clouds and the dark of night, His plans are greater than my preferences.

and even when it hurts, it is well with my soul.