While I was sitting in church on Sunday I was thinking about the Casting Crowns' song, "Praise You in This Storm". This caused a flood of thoughts and memories: a friend who had this as their ringtone after surviving the May 22 tornado, the picture we have in our living room with a favorite quote "Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, It's about learning to dance in the rain", the various storms we have faced in our life and our attitudes during those storms.

While I was pondering these things, I realized that each and everyone of us face storms in our life. Each storm has a perceived magnitude and significance to the person experiencing it and to those looking in. The storms that each of us face are very real, significant, and unpleasant. However, it is sometimes easy for outsiders to hear about or watch us face a storm and try to "one up" us, or be dismissive of the pain that we are facing. When the reality is that no one has the right to judge another person's storm just because it is different from their own storm.

Yesterday on the radio, I heard a blurb from Renee Swope, at least I'm pretty sure that's who it was, I don't want to mis-credit anyone. She spoke of how when a friend at church asked how she was doing, she unloaded on her. She encouraged people to be honest with each other and to trust one another with our burdens, or storms, in order that we may come along side one another and help lighten the load.

Here's to putting judgement aside and dancing in the rain with one another!