There’s a good chance I may have shared some of this before, so if it’s a repeat I ask for forgiveness in advance. But then again, some things are worth repeating.

Life revolves around three areas. Now this is my personal opinion so it’s most likely wrong, but it is reality for me.

1. A storm is coming.

2. You are currently in a storm.

3. You recently came out of a storm. 

I’m not talking about rainstorms; I’m talking about storms in life. We all have difficulties. Everyone deals with heartache, disappointment, failure, and tough times. Adversity escapes no one and is no respecter of persons. I don’t believe God plays favorites because He causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

I read that somewhere in the bible.

I have certainly experienced adversity in my life, but I’ve been pretty lucky. I know of others who have had to deal with much more heartache than I could ever imagine.

I am not as lucky as some, but I am luckier than most … that I know for certain.

I heard a quote last week that I thought was good, “You learn to fly when the wind is blowing the hardest.”

It’s hard to learn about personal character and self-worth when the waters of life are as smooth as glass. It is when the storm winds starts to blow, the waves begin to swell, and it looks like the end is near when one discovers what they are really made of.

I don’t often hear stories about people learning about themselves while sitting in a lawn chair watching the sunset. The stories I hear about self-discovery are written when one is dealing with adversity. They have to dig deep within themselves to get through a storm that is tossing them around.

In the movie Cast Away, starring Tom Hanks, there’s a scene I have referred to often in my life. If you have not seen the movie, it’s certainly worth the rental. Not a lot of dialogue but a great story about hanging in there when all hope appears to be lost.

There is one particular scene where Hanks character, Chuck Noland, had just weeks before been plucked off a pile of sticks floating in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean by a passing ship. Noland had spent four years alone on a tiny, deserted island after surviving a plane crash. He built a raft and went forward, doing what he had to do to get back to civilization.

His raft had fallen apart, death was knocking on his door, all hope was lost. Yet he made it. His friend asked him how he survived.

“I had to keep breathing. Even though there was no reason to hope… I stayed alive. I kept breathing. And one day my logic was proven all wrong because the tide came in and gave me a sail. And now, here I am. I’m back… Because now I know what I have to do now. I have to keep breathing. Because tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?”

Just keep breathing. Most of the things I worry about in life never happen and probably never will. But sometimes things do happen beyond our control, and it completely knocks the wind out of our sails. You look up and you’re stuck on a deserted island with nobody there to help you and your only option is to keep breathing and believing the sun will rise. There is no telling what a new day will bring, so look forward to finding out.

I am convinced of this; we are all tougher than we think. Storms in life are gonna happen, and yes, some storms pack more of a punch than others. But even still – if you keep breathing and hoping, they will not defeat you.

“Every storm runs, runs out of rain
Just like every dark night turns into day
Every heartache will fade away
Just like every storm runs, runs out of rain.”

– Gary Allan, Every Storm

Never forget that every storm eventually runs out of rain – so hang on, don’t let go, and keep breathing.

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Todd Howey is a columnist for BrownwoodNews.com whose articles appear on Fridays. Email comments to thowey63@gmail.com.