Storms

Storms (2011), 24" x 19.5" - Ramona Dallum Lindsey, artist

Storms are a reality of life.  Often they sneak up on you unexpectedly.  Sometimes you see warning signs off in the distance.   For many people, storms foster emotions of impending doom.  While others exude peace in the midst of raging storms.   Life's most challenging times are equated with storms.  The mild challenges are a gentle summer storm lasting only a moment.  Life's extreme challenges are raging tempests spawned by violent winds.

Storms, the fourth piece in the Profiles of Courage Series, explores a community's reaction to life's challenges.   Each person at some point experiences some life challenge.  The effects of each person's handling of the challenge can have a lasting impact on the community at large.   A mother faced with unemployment turns to crime for daily survival.  A teen envisioning a hopeless future devalues the preciousness of life. A husband unable to effectively communicate with a spouse or partner acts abusive.  A young girl longing for love from an absent father becomes promiscuous. I live in a metropolis containing over 2 million people. The same storms that rage through our metropolis exist in the smallest town.   Our storms are just more pronounced due to the sheer number of people reacting to their own storm.

 

How can a community get through its storms without self-destructing?  I propose the answer is people of faith.  Their thoughts, prayers, and actions envelop the community.  In the community's darkest hours people of faith are lights chasing away the darkness.   Often they are faithful mothers, grandmothers, and daughters with nurturing spirits.  They're guided by strong prayer lives.  These prayer warriors minds' are fixed on their men and children.  Their strength is drawn from a higher power.  This strength is a protective blanket of hope.  Soon the storms become obscure and faith prevails.