This Wednesday Wisdom post is in honour of the week-long deluge of torrential rain that has been battering my part of the world for the best part of a week.

It feels like it might sometimes, doesn’t it?  Rain forever I mean.  And yet we all know, deep down inside ourselves somewhere, that eventually the sun will come out again.

It might be as soon as in just a couple of days.

Or it might be in a few months time, after we’ve first had to survive the darkness and coldness of winter.

No matter how long it takes though, the sunshine does eventually reappear and balance is restored to our world.

Sometimes if there are a lot of things going on in our lives – whether that’s relationship difficulties, parenting issues, money worries, health concerns, job stress, or any number of other challenges that I haven’t mentioned – it can often feel like it’s never-ending.  It can be difficult to remember a time when things used to be good or imagine a time in the future when life might be good again.

“It never rains forever” is a phrase that I’ve started to keep in my head.  It reminds me that nothing lasts forever and that everything is temporary.  It reminds me that even if a situation I’m in might seem to be dark and dreary and never-ending, I can trust that at some point in the future everything will be ok.  I can trust that despite what’s happening, I am ok.

Sometimes I might only have to endure the rain for a couple of days.

Sometimes I might have to battle through the storm for several months.

Eventually, there will be a rainbow.

Something that I think it’s really important to remember is that we don’t just have to sit and watch out of the window as the rain comes down and wait for it to stop.  We still have choices.

Of course, we can’t actually stop the rain from falling, just like we can’t stop the challenges that we get presented with from happening.  But we can choose how we respond.

When it rains we can put up an umbrella.  We can go out and dance in it.  We can pull on our wellies and go and splash in the puddles.  We can be thankful that our gardens are being watered.

Similarly, no matter what tough situation you find yourself going through, you don’t have to wait it out.  You still have choices in how to react.

You could use it as an opportunity to learn and grow.  You could find within yourself resources that you never knew you had.  You could take action by jumping right into it and figuring out how it’s going to make you stronger and better able to cope with other storms that might come your way.

It never rains forever.  The sun will shine again.  And when it does, you’ll appreciate it all the more.

PS:  I’m sad to announce that this will be the last Wednesday Wisdom post.  For a good reason though!  From November I’ll be at my Harley Street practice every week instead of every fortnight.  As a result I simply won’t be able to make the time to do a regular Wednesday post because I’ll be super-busy seeing clients.  I like writing them so much (and you all seem to enjoy reading them) that I’m going to transform it into an ongoing ‘Thought for the Day’ post instead.  Coming soon to a blog near you…