When I moved to Arizona, I wanted to learn everything about Monsoons! I am a bit of a weather nerd – probably more from my character defect of wanting to control things that I can’t possibly control! Weather is NOT controllable.

In May of each year, my town has a Monsoon Madness presentation. We have so many folk who retire here from all over the US and the town wants to educate people about the monsoon season (June 1 – September 30). When we have rain here it is most often very heavy and because we are in the desert, flash flooding is a given. Teaching people about NOT driving into standing water saves lives. Lightning can be strong and start desert fires easily. We learn “TURN AROUND, DON’T DROWN.”

I look forward to Monsoon! Tropical winds from the gulf of Mexico meet the very hot temps of southern AZ and by 2-3 pm most days, the thunder clouds build and we watch for rain. Often, I can see rain and lighting and thunder just a few miles away as the desert is flat, but then it doesn’t move to my house. They can get .50 inches in a few minutes, I get none! I want the rain! The average rainfall here is only 13 inches and most of it comes during the summer. To grow anything – I need rain!

When the storms hit my house – it is exciting and frightening. Thunder and lightning can go on for what seems like hours. The wind goes up to 30+ miles per hour and the rain pours.

So why tell you about monsoon in AZ? Well, for me it’s a bit like my sobriety and my spiritual life.

Life in sobriety can be calm often. There are some ups and downs. Sometimes for me there are seasons upheaval, pain and confusion – these are the Monsoon times. Sometimes I see the problems or events coming that can shake my serenity – often with a phone call to my sponsor and an extra meeting, the storm moves away from me. I can often see what might shake me, but I can also watch it pass by.

Then there are the times when the storms in my life can not be stopped. Meetings, phone calls, prayer, and surrender get me through. I look for the blessings in it. Monsoon brings wildflowers and growth to the desert, blooms that only come when the storms come. It also breaks our 100+ heat in the summer for a day or two and saves me money on air conditioning. The lightening can be spectacular to watch.

I don’t think I will ever like the hard times that come in the way I like the monsoons, but I do love knowing that the storms in the sky and in my life, ALWAYS pass with the help of God and recovery.

Libbie S.