Here Comes the Rain

I love love love rain. I love the way it sounds, I love the way it smells and feels, and I love taking any excuse to wear my adorable polka-dotted rain boots. I know it's not an opinion shared by many others, but there is something so very beautiful about watching a good rain. As I write this, I am sitting on my comfy couch under a warm, soft blanket (given to me by my best girl, Angela), watching the rain fall out my back windows. The entire back wall of my house is full of windows, facing a huge wooded lot so all you see is trees upon trees upon trees, giving that feeling of bringing the outdoors in and making you feel one with nature. I sit here watching the raindrops hit my deck, each droplet bouncing a little as it hits. As the drops trickle down through the trees, they make the most refreshing sound. There is something very cleansing about watching a good rainfall. Not to mention the fact that the sound of it hitting the roof makes for the most AH-MAZE-ING nap ever...and I do love me a good nap!






I know there are times that we hope/wish/pray for beautiful sunshiny weather, and curse the folks at weather.com for forecasting rain during our planned trip to the amusement park, our family picnic, wedding day, etc. I personally was planning to meet a friend at the (outdoor) mall today to take our babies for a stroll and possibly do a little shopping. Now, since our 6/7 month-olds most-likely wouldn't appreciate a cold, wet stroller ride and the indoor malls around here are mostly rubbish, we probably won't be able to go. I was so disappointed for a minute, and then it's almost as if God said "Hey you, look outside for a minute and see that the rain was put there by Me, and therefore it is both necessary and beautiful." God is good at that, you know, thumping me over the head from time to time.

I've been praying now for months that God would somehow show me what my "purpose" is on this earth (or at least my purpose for the immediate future.) I want Him to show me what that purpose is, but only if it doesn't involve any "rain." For example, I'd love for Him to tell me to go serve on a medical missions team in South Africa for 2 weeks, that would be amazing. But what if He wants us to pack up and MOVE there and be full-time missionaries? That's a little too much "moving of my cheese" for my likings. Or what about hearing that Hubs and I should join the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program and help some troubled inner-city youth feel loved and be a good adult influence in their lives. I would be very open to that! But, what if God instead decides to ask us to become foster-parents, and to take one of these troubled children into our home and our neat little lives and try to parent them, then what?

I know that God's plans always end up greater than ours. I do know that. I know that the few times in my life when I clearly heard the voice of God call me to action, I followed him and was blessed IMMENSELY for it. But it's still human nature to want to avoid the rain. "I'll just stay in my cozy house on those rainy days and pray that tomorrow will be sunny." We tend to like it cozy. Who wouldn't? But watching the rain this morning I am becoming more and more aware that rain (both real and metaphorically speaking) is both good and necessary. We are going to go through a whole lot of "rainy" days/months/years in our time on this planet. Why not embrace it? Know that the rainy days will come whether they are invited or not, and live our lives doing what we are called to do (I'm speaking metaphorically here, people, keep up now). I think it's time for me to stop praying with contingencies and start opening my life up for God to use me, no matter how uncomfortable the changes may be. The only time we ever see a gorgeous rainbow is after a good rain.