My niece has lived in sunny southern California her whole life. So, she was in for a shock when she slipped off to college in Iowa last fall.

The day she settled in to her dorm, sirens began blaring. Outside, winds blew 100 mph. A tree was flung against a telephone wire. Rain swirled into mini tornadoes. Crops were pulled up by their roots. A knowing roommate pulled her from the quaking walls into the basement. Water crept in through the front door and followed them down. There, 1,000 strangers gathered in the wet and waited.

But the derecho was just the start of the wild weather!

When the snow began a few months later, my niece battled it face-to-face on her walk to class every morning. Her eyelashes froze over the steamy breath coming from her mask. The wind flung her portfolio around like a dog with a toy. Iowa’s weather was a constant fight.

Outside, the weather raged, but inside, my niece was growing in peace. She found God in Iowa. God was in her public university. God was guiding her into deep friendships with a passionate group of Christian kids on campus. And as God was exalted in her friendships, she became empowered. She was beating the wild winds of college life.