Clouds may roll in around you
Blocking your eyes from the view
The lightning may strike your spirit
Leaving you nothing to do

But wait out the stormy, turbulent days
Wait for the rain to subside
Sunshine can always find
A place she can hide

The wind starts to howl around you
Scattering thoughts on the sand
The sand forms the shape of a castle
This beauty you don't understand

How could these scattered, jumbled ideas
Build something so serene?
You can awake to find it's not a dream
It's Sunshine in the storm

Flowers hide their heads when the rain falls
Protecting their eyes from the storm
The strength that's alive within them
Helps keep them safe and warm

Sometimes the raindrops wash away fear
Your beauty can't be denied
Although the clouds shadow light
It's bright inside
Sunshine in the storm

The might of the tide and the frail foam
Exist in the same deep blue sea
Power and grace in the same form
How could this paradox be?

You've lived through the darkness, the wind, and the rain
Times that were too unkind
But it brightens my life, my heart, and my soul just to find
You're Sunshine in the storm

Reflection - "Sunshine in the Storm"

Power and Grace in the same form. That is a paradox, yet is a truthful and accurate picture of her spirit. She is so often called the weaker sex. Those who believe this are short of insight. Those who focus on physical attributes as if they were the crowning glory of the race place too much importance on the temporal and the perishable. The timeless, the eternal, the indelible power lies within. She seems far better equipped to recognize and use this inner strength. The preceding song pays tribute to this strength. The feminine spirit is perseverant. The feminine spirit has survived centuries of abuse. She has been burned in Salem, raped in Bosnia, battered in homes across the globe yet her spirit will not perish. This is strength greater than the strongest army. I pray one day that mankind will recognize and honor this truth. Like the previous segment where the life of a woman is compared to that of a rose, part of the inspiration for this song came in the same flowerbed. As I took the garden hose and sprayed a steady stream of water on all the plants I was trying to be carefully not to pummel the more delicate flowers at my feet. But I noticed that they blooms were well equipped for the shower. They simply closed themselves and bowed in reverence to the stream. Afterward, they opened up and within hours beamed with radiance greater than before. What a lesson they had taught me. I saw that there is indeed a quiet but powerful strength inside and that strength is so often accessed by humble submission to a healing and nurturing power. Were the flowers praying? Surrendering to God's Grace? I believe they were, and their outward display of thanksgiving is a gift of beauty each of us can behold. She can inspire us to follow the same path.

This song was also inspired by a number of ladies, young and old, who have displayed for me a very clearly defined strength within a very delicate and soft framework. The paradox isn't about balancing a delicate physical existence with a strong heart or personality. Actually, it goes much deeper than that. These women have somehow - it will always be a mystery to me - displayed an unbelievable physical fortitude within a physique as delicate as gossamer. And on the inside, a sensitive and vulnerable heart only enhances a resilient and clever nature. The might of the tide and the frailty of the foam coexist in every aspect of her being. As the song implies, this is a mystery at times even to her. How indeed can she continually build sand castles in windstorms? Perhaps we can only imagine. But we can also revere the mystery. In doing so, we get to share her beautiful gift of Grace.