Growing up in Cleveland, I experienced "lake effect" snow dumps. Spending most of my adult life around Boston meant winters punctuated by the whipping winds and ice of classic New England nor'easters. But in southern Louisiana, even run-of-the-mill thunderstorms can be dramatic in ways that just don't happen up north. Here, storms large enough to earn a name are as fascinating as they are fierce. As I write, local news is flooded with reports of a cyclone that is likely to hit somewhere in Louisiana in the next few days as a Category 1 hurricane named Francine. It will be a first for the son and daughter-in-law who moved down here last May. This year, they will be learning -- as we did -- how to handle it.

I suppose it's a good thing that hurricanes aren't like earthquakes or tornadoes. They don't just pop up out of nowhere; there's always warning. We see them form hundreds of miles away and watch them develop as they move across warm ocean waters. Of course, some disturbances look threatening but don't manage to form into much of anything before they dissipate entirely. Others weaken substantially along their paths. Every year, a few grow stronger as they run their course. We know that these will make landfall; the only real question is where.

Predictions can help, but preparations help more. Here, that means tying down or removing loose items outdoors, stocking up on water, ice, and food, and buying gasoline for your portable generator. (This year, we have one.) It's the Gulf equivalent of emptying the Market Basket bread aisle and milk supplies in February. Of course, it's not as if the Gulf South is the only place significant storms occur. Bad weather is a fact of life wherever we live. No one can avoid it entirely. The Blizzard of '78, and Hurricane Sandy were predicted, too. But not everyone took the meteorology reports seriously.

While the winds around us can cause significant damage, they are nothing compared to those that whirl within and among us. Those are the "weather events" that cause us the greatest damage. It takes most of us years to figure out we can't avoid personal tragedy or crisis any more than we can a hurricane or a blizzard. Whoever we are, we will suffer losses. A bad diagnosis, divorce, job loss, sudden death, or unplanned pregnancy can set us reeling with worry and despair. But there are two reasons why they don't have to: we have God, and we have each other.

God is not just in the still, small voice. He is also present in the Category 6 hurricane that makes landfall in our lives. But God does not leave us to weather them alone. He uses storms to draw us closer to him. He allows the storms that form to form us, to increase our faith until it is strong enough to withstand anything.

Every storm is an invitation to grow closer to others. We can begin by releasing one another from judgment and shame. We can choose to stop treating pain and struggle as if they are unavoidably isolating and use them to bring us together. Instead of hunkering down and turning away, we can embrace what storms offer us -- a context in which to accompany one another more deeply, to help one another prepare, to check in with each other, and even rescue each other.

The most difficult thing about significant storms -- in the atmosphere and in life -- is dealing with the cone of uncertainty. While few are willing to acknowledge it, we all live our lives largely within that cone. Even when we know a crisis is coming, we can't be sure of when, where, or how bad it will be. We do not know what path it will take in advance. As it turns out, that is not a bad thing. For with faith, the "cone of uncertainty" can become a "cone of trust," the one that brings us to the safest place of all: the hand of God.



- Jaymie Stuart Wolfe is a Catholic convert, wife, and mother of eight. Inspired by the spirituality of St. Francis de Sales, she is an author, speaker, and musician, and provides freelance editorial services to numerous publishers and authors as the principal of One More Basket. Find Jaymie on Facebook or follow her on Twitter @YouFeedThem.