Early this morning, I was disappointed to see that it was still raining. I mean, don't get me wrong, I know we need the rain, but I really wanted the sun. There's just something about waking up to a beautiful sun shiny day, hearing the birds sing and the feel of the cool morning breeze gently blowing through the window. There's just something refreshing about it. It's like natures wake up call. It's better than coffee and I love coffee! But no, not today, today I woke up to a dark, gloomy, gray morning. Instead of birds singing their praise, I heard rain beating the window and though there would have been a cool breeze, had I opened the window, the rain would have saturated my floors. Nope, it wasn't going to be a beautiful day at all. I wanted to stay in bed, but I couldn't, I just had too much to do.
I tried really hard to make the most of the day, but no matter how hard I tried, the gloomy day kept sucking the energy right out of me. So, when it came time to pick up my daughter from school, I decided to get out my umbrella and just walk in the rain. What could it hurt? It's better then waiting 30 minutes in a line of cars. So I'd get a little wet. Maybe it'll help wake me up. But when we began walking back, the rain kicked up to be more than just a drizzle. I began questioning whether I had made the right decision after all. I had only brought one umbrella and one of us was going to get soaked. So, I handed Faith the umbrella, assured her that I wouldn't melt and we started back.
As the rain ran down my face, I began to think about our Spiritual walk. How we bask in the sunshine and dance in the cool breeze of the days when it's easy to rejoice and life is good. We love to relax and listen to birds sing as we smell the sweet fragrance of God's love, joy and peace. But in the garden of life, sometimes the clouds hang low and we're forced to run for shelter or walk in the rain. We weep as it rains on our parade. Our smiles turn to frowns and our laughter turns to wailing and travailing in tears. We run for shelter but can't find relief. We ask why and wonder why the rain has to come. We feel disappointed and question when will the sun shine again. But then I thought about that seed that's planted deep within the dark, moist, soil; away from the sun's rays, fighting for life. I think if it weren't for the rain, the seed would dry up as the sun dehydrates the soil. And as the seed brings for life and begins to make it's journey through the soil to reach the surface, if it weren't for the rain, it would scorch, burn and die before becoming that beautiful flower it was intended to be. That seed was never meant to stay hidden, but was intended to walk in the rain.
Like the flower, God knows how much rain it takes to sustain us and how much is too much and would drown us. He'll never put more on us than we can bear. He believes in us, loves us and sees more in us than just the simple seed in which we began. He's cultivating us into something far more beautiful than we can fathom. So trust Him and enjoy a walk in the rain.
-first blogged on www.mychurch.org/kdtw, April 2, 2009
