This writer loves thunderstorms. That may seem a little odd to some people, but I enjoy listening to the roaring sounds of thunder, watching lightning dance across the sky, and listening to the gentle soothing sound of the rain as it falls.

Not only are storms a natural phenomenon, but storms also occur in each of our lives. We all face those times in our lives when the dark storm clouds seem to roll on for an eternity, the clap of the accompanying thunder is ever deafening, and the brilliant lightning is blinding. There are those times in each of our lives when it seems that the storms will never dissipate, and the sun will never shine again leaving us feeling melancholy and forlorn. However, Japanese writer, Haruki Murakami, assures us, “And once the storm is over you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is [really] over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm you won’t be the same person who walked in.”

In celebration of the release of her new album Key of Sea – 10 Year Special Edition on Friday, 27 October 2017, Jennifer Thomas also released a new music video for her original song “A Beautiful Storm” which is also found on the album. The video was released on her YouTube channel on 25 October 2017, and within four days had garnered more than 10,000 views on YouTube.

As the video opens, we hear the storm winds begin to rage as the wind-tossed waves crash against the rocks. Jennifer sits at the piano on the beach with the ocean at her back, and from the first note that she plays, it almost seems as if she is anticipating the impending storm. The low-key notes and the rapid playing of the piano give a sense of the thunderclouds that are beginning to roll in. Though as she plays, there doesn’t seem to be a dark cloud in the sky. In fact, the sun is shining. It is the calm before the storm.

At 1:41 in the video, we see Jennifer in her red dress standing on a cliff overlooking the sea. As she eloquently plays her violin in the “Key of Sea” we notice that the calmness begins to fade as the winds begin to rage and the waves crash harder against the rocks below. At this point, the tempo of the arrangement shifts as if warning us that the storm is about to hit. At 1:59, the tempo slows, and we see Jennifer dressed in white amidst the fog in a forest serenely playing her violin as if to let us know that the storm has passed. In jubilation, Jennifer continues to play celebrating the fact that after the storm, the sun does shine again. And towards the end of the video, we see the sun setting just over the horizon. We have just experienced a “beautiful storm.”

So, even though there are times when we feel that there is no hope for the storms of life that we are facing (economic challenges, emotional challenges, physical or spiritual challenges, etc.), we can put our total faith and trust in Him, knowing that He is Immanuel (God with Us), and that we never have to face any storm or walk alone in this life.