I had only left Bible College for about seven months when I was asked to move to North Wales to pioneer a new church in the seaside town of Colwyn Bay.

Immediately after College I had moved to Merseyside to Pastor a church in Garston Liverpool. I was based at the Wirral Christian Centre in Birkenhead a church at which I enjoyed one of the happiness periods of my life.

I moved to Colwyn Bay at the end of January 1985 and spent three weeks preparing for the pioneer mission in a local theatre. We had a church building and there was plenty of work to do there.

The Mission was to be led by Pastor Paul Epton who was my Senior Pastor at Birkenhead (Paul is now Director of Evangelism for the Elim Pentecostal Church).

After three weeks working alone in Colwyn Bay it was a relief to travel back to my old College, Elim Bible College then in Capel. Whilst there I was to pick up the sound system for the Mission and make arrangements with two friends Lionel and Pete who would be part of the Mission team.

Lionel and I left the college late on the Friday afternoon to travel to his parents house in Dudley in the West Midlands where I would stay the night before travelling back to Colwyn Bay on the Saturday morning.

As we travelled up the M1 from London it started to snow and by bedtime the snow was thick on the streets of the Midlands.

I woke up to a lovely bright Saturday morning and after lunch I started on my journey on the M5 and M6 for North Wales. After an hour I stopped at a service station and called my own parents back in Swansea. My father was furious that I was travelling as the North West of England and North of Wales were getting heavy snow storms.

I decided to head for Birkenhead and maybe stay the night in my old flat or at least wait it out until things cleared.

When I got back to my flat it was bare – the centre had turned it into a store room.  I simply had no choice but to drive through the snow. Please note: I don't recommend that unless it's absolutely necessary!

It took me over two hours to drive along the A55 with snow banked high on the side of the road. I was passed by no more than a dozen vehicles – How I thanked the Lord for travelling mercies that night!

But isn't life like that sometimes?  We are in the midst of heart-rending pain.

Broken relationships that leave gaping holes in our hearts and lives. 

A job loss that leaves us reeling.  Perhaps just "everyday" stress.

Some people try to medicate the pain with alcohol or illicit drugs.  Others dive head first into relationships that are harmful to them spiritually, emotionally and perhaps even physically.

Others try to distract themselves by working longer hours, filling every minute with activity etc. 

There are a myriad of unhealthy "coping" attempts.

But sometimes we simply have to "go through"  the storms- feel the pain, lean into it to get through it. And at times, it seems more than we can bear.

However – remember this - God will provide all we need for this stormy travel - spiritually (church support; prayer; Bible study), emotionally (good friends and family, and sometimes professional counsellors) and physically (rest, exercise, food).

Isaiah 43:2-3 (The Message) When you're in over your head, I'll be there with you. When you're in rough waters, you will not go down. When you're between a rock and a hard place, it won't be a dead end--Because I am GOD, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in!

God will meet us exactly where we are.   

If you are going through storms in your life, just pray and ask God to guide you through them.

Sure it's fine to ask for removal of the storms, and sometimes God will oblige.

But other times, we simply have to live through the storms. Most often, we will grow through them (if we are open to it) and God will use that pain in the future, to help others.

What is the storm in your life today?