Hurricane Frances: My Life Story
             Hurricane Frances and the events that surrounded her in some ways remind me of my own life. I remember September 1st like it was yesterday. Last Wednesday the news had announced that Thursday and Friday I would have no school. I remembered how excited I was because as a child I would get in a lot of trouble in school, thus causing me to dislike it even more. So I'm assuming that subconsciously I still hold on to those unpleasant feelings about school.
             The next day, Thursday, my dad and I put up hurricane shutters on the house. As I was cutting my hands on the sharp edges of the metal hurricane shutters and bolting them to the house, I was reminded of how I used to put up shutters in my mind to keep EVERYONE out. I was a very aloof child and young adolescent. I never let anyone know what I was thinking or feeling (but my parents and every other adult I knew, could always find a secret entrance) and I was dark, like the inside of a house that is boarded up.
             And then Frances came. The weather was unruly, and there was a lot of wind and rain. It was kind of like the ups and downs of my life and it reminded me of all the tears that my parents shed because of me.
             Then Frances left- she was gone. Everyone came out, and they let their guard down. I remember when I realized that there was no reason for me to keep my guard up. It wasn't easy to get through Frances, or my stubbornness, but I did, and it felt so liberating.
             After Frances and her buddies, rain band one and rain band two, were gone, the sun came and shined on everything. It showed everything more clearly, showed all the disaster, and it made the outdoors a lot safer outside, too. I guess the same thing goes for me, in my life. After my personal "hurricanes", I finally realized that the only way to clean up the mess I had made within my family and among my peers, was to let the Son in- Jesus Christ.
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