Calm.

It's easy to get used to the calm coming before the storm.  It becomes a lifestyle.  And it generally means that the calm is less enjoyable because every atom within us KNOWS that the storm is imminent.  It is a learned behavior.  As anyone who has ever lived in tornado alley can tell you.  There is an eerie silence.  Absolute stillness.  Until....havoc breaks loose.  And your only hope is to be hidden away or far away before that happens.  And sometimes the storm doesn't hit you...it hits all around you.  But you suffer the results.
And so, the behavior becomes learned.  Don't panic, but plan...if there is a calm, then a storm is coming.
It can be learned in life circumstances too.  It's not good.  It's not healthy.  It robs joy.  Steals peace.  Kills the spirit.  But, happen it does.  It is learned.
But learning something different takes a lot of time.  A lot of effort.  Learning that there can be calm WITHOUT  a storm.  Just as a gift.  Just as it is.  Not as a precursor to something bad or destructive.  It's worth the time to learn.  To sit still in the calm and learn to enjoy it.  To put yourself in situations purposefully that are peaceful and learn to rest in them.
When I picture Him keeping my heart and my spirit in Christ....I picture GENUINE calm.  Not as an omen of a storm to come.  I am learning to sit there.  In Him.  Knowing that storm or no storm...He remains true.  Strong.  Faithful.  Able.
I am safe.  I have every reason to be quiet in the calm.
blessings.