When it Rains it Pours

Despite the literal truth of this statement flooding my community as you read this, I can’t help but feel the full torrential force of life’s storms. When the wind is raging and the rain won’t relent, there are times when we feel hopelessly swept away in the flood of our trials.

Grief, finances, failures, illness, relationships.

Dreams.

All the pieces, big and small, that make up a life.

Sometimes it feels like the things we fight most fervently for are the first things ripped from our grasp while we flounder in the ever swelling problems threating to dishearten and drown.

Whether it’s weariness or resignation to that inevitable ebb and flow of life’s ups and downs, the crushing weight of those raining problems can leave us hesitant to hope for the sunrise. The rainbow. The promise of deliverance. Hesitant, or maybe desperate, to cling to that small, sometimes rapidly fraying, thread of faith holding us together.

Ever been right there? In desperate need of a lifeline?

Right there, in that perfectly catastrophic storm, the truth you need the most can fall on deaf ears. Those spoon fed assurances are easier to swallow when you aren’t up to your neck in the deep end, battle weary and gasping for breath. When that storm front is bearing down. When the dark cloud blinds you to the light breaking just out of reach. 

Assurances like…

“God won’t give you more than you can handle.”

“His yoke is easy.”

“Cast your cares on Him.”

“The Lord is my strength.”

“This, too, shall pass.”

“He has not given you a spirit of fear.”

“What the devil meant for evil, God can turn around for good.”

All powerful truths. And yet, all, at times, feel as cliché as the title of this post.

Ever fought against a current? Not quite as easy as it looks, is it? And in that same way, activating our faith, walking the walk, surrendering control, just being still can feel about as difficult as walking on water.

But you know… how we feel doesn’t change what is.

Your doubts, your weaknesses and struggles don’t change the fact that God’s got it. That he will not leave you. That no matter how alone you feel in your storm, he can and will intervene to calm the raging sea and keep you from going under.

Your feelings in your overwhelming moment of despair are sorely unmatched for the truth of who has you, your current pain, and your future triumph in His hands. In the middle of that storm, the water is high, your fear is powerful, your eyes can’t see what’s ahead. They are stuck, right there with you, on the bleak, blinding chaos.

Don’t panic. You’re going to bungle it at times. You will take on water. You will, without a doubt, get wet. 

And that’s okay. Sometimes we need to fall in to wash some stuff off. To remember we are not in control. That, though He didn’t cause your storm, He can still command the waves.

Thank God.

Rest and know. The flood will not take you because, whether you grasp it or not, you have the ultimate life raft at your disposal. What you feel does not have to define who you are.

An heir. A testimony. A champion.

And held.

Just keep swimming toward help … He’s closer than you think.

<3 Amy

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Amy Leigh Simpson writes romantic mysteries with honesty and humor, sweetness and spice, and gritty reality covered by grace. When she’s not stealing moments at naptime to squeeze out a few more adventures in storyland, she’s chasing around two tow-headed miscreants (Ahem)—boys, playing dress up with one sweet princess baby, and being the very blessed wife to the coolest, most swoon-worthy man alive. Amy is a Midwestern-girl, a singer, blogger, runner, coffee-addict, and foodie. Her Sports Medicine degree is wasted patching up daily boo boo’s, but whatever is left usually finds its way onto the page with fluttering hearts, blood and guts, and scars that lead to happily ever after.

Check out her NEW romantic mystery novel FROM WINTER'S ASHES! Available NOW!

What's YOUR story?

It's been an exciting couple of months for me... starting with signing on with WildBlue Press to seeing the pieces of the publishing puzzle start to come together from edits to a title contest and off and running toward a cover design. It feels like I jumped the curb from the school zone to the NASCAR circle, but it's been one heck of a ride and I'm still flooring it with all I've got!

Yesterday something exciting happened. My very own bio page went live on my publisher's website. We've been all signed up and working toward this goal for a few months now but something about that made me feel rather official. Validated.

Silly, in a way, I suppose. It's not like having my backstory posted online means I've made it to the top, or any such nonsense. My book wont be releasing until the end of October and this was merely one more lap in the race. But I think it's special because I'm a story-teller. I tell stories about fictional people. Their struggles and triumphs. Their fears and aspirations. I love that I have a passion for it. I count myself privileged to have found something I love doing that I seem to not stink at, and even when I did, to still find enough love and joy in it to keep working to get better. :)

And yet, I forgot what a simple pleasure it is to tell a piece of my OWN story. I got to write a brief snapshot of my journey and others actually read it and cheered me on. People may think writing is a solitary venture, but while our laptop might often be our closest companion (though admittedly a pretty lousy conversationalist) most writers long for actual community. Not just to have a following of readers--sure it would be really nice if people actually read my book when it came out so I don't feel like a giant flopping failure. But like any other dream so closely tied to your heart, we need encouragement, congratulations, and commiseration. Sharing yourself in open forum for the world to pick and poke at can be a pretty intimidating thing. We realize not all books are for all people. Everyone has a different opinion and not everyone who reads my book is going to think I'm Houdini with words.

But to know that my story, MINE, encouraged someone? Made them smile or believe in themselves even just a smidgen more, well... it just makes me feel honored to be heard. To have a moment. A moment, maybe small to others, but big and wonderfully thrilling for this humble writer making strides toward a bigger goal.

If you want to read my story, it's here.... but I also want to read yours! It doesn't have to be long or eloquent, but it might just encourage someone else barely clinging to a dream.

So tell me about your dream... What's YOUR story?

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Amy Leigh Simpson is the completely exhausted stay-at-home mama to the two wild-child, tow-headed boys, one pretty little princess baby, and the incredibly blessed wife of her hunky hubby.

She writes Romantic Mystery chalked full of grace that is equally inspiring, nail-biting, and hilarious. And a little saucy! Okay fine, a lot saucy. :) She is a member of ACFW, and now uses her Sports Medicine degree to patch up daily boo-boos. Her greatest ambitions are to create stories that inspire hope, raise up her children to be mighty warriors for Christ, invent an all-dessert diet that works, and make up for years of sleep deprivation. 

Look for her debut novel due out this October with WildBlue Press!