As I look up to the gray sky through the dullness of the sun, I see a storm in mid birth. When it will happen, I cannot say. My gaze adjusts to the oak trees. Their calm, mighty trunks sway slightly, then more rapidly. The wind carries the beat of a warning signal. I stand there feeling the lukewarm kiss of the air, I emerge from my house. Trusting that the weather will hold, walking further and further from the shelter I call home. 

Then. Suddenly a single drop descends.

 The storm had been born. Rapid rains and violent winds surrounded me. I go to the oak trees seeking protection. I lean on it for support. Suddenly lightning and thunder burst from the sky, shouting at me. I muster the courage to run towards my door. The distance mocks me for leaving in the first place. My foot slips on the grass. I skate across it as if it were ice. !A monstrous wave of frustration overwhelms me. 

Now drenched, I get up slowly, wanting to punch the storm in rage. But what good would that do?  Closing my eyes, the image of the storm fades, and I feel my hair whipping uncontrollably from the chaotic wind. My body in a cold sweat, I breathe in the moisture that surrounds me. Exhaling the anger.

 I walk to the door calmly, ready to rest. 

We all face different storms in life. It’s how you react that defines how it will affect you. A personal storm I've had to face was my dad. He destroyed my definition of one. Creating disarray in my life.Like the weather,  just when I felt I could trust him I was proven wrong. It frustrated me. My longing for a dad made me damage myself. My reactions made his pride grow. Even though I personally already had a perfect father in heaven, my longing for an earthly dad overrode that. I remember him constantly promising things to me and never delivering. He promised me he'd stop hurting and fighting with my mom, promised a better future,promised he'd be there for me. All these promises fell through. He was bi-polar and a pathological liar. I had my expectations and he never meet them. I constantly blamed myself, but I realized I couldn't control the storm.

My reaction to the storm was a reason I didn’t escape it as soon as I could’ve. Having learned my lesson, now, when I look up to the brewing sky through the darkness of the sun. I don't try an escape it in rush,but push through calmly. When I see a storm I face it.