Rain

My back was turned on the two women who stood talking at the counter.

I was pondering whether to put sugar in my coffee.

A sentence tumbled from their conversation into my ears. I put the sugar in (just a little, I promise), and began pondering her words.

"You better be appreciatin' the rain!"

"I know," said the second woman, "but it always rains on my days off, then it's beautiful as soon as I go to work. Here I am, and it's supposed to rain again today!"

"Would you rather have a drought?" asked the women behind the counter.

Good point.

Well...would you?

Think about it: "you better be appreciatin' the rain."

That, my friends, is a profound spiritual truth. And like all good, profound spiritual truths, it sounds great in principle, and it's tough to put into practice.

We human beings tend to like rain only when it comes on our terms. We like a gentle rain that falls early in the morning. The kind that provides the perfect soundtrack for a great night's sleep.

We don't like rain at picnics. Or ballgames. Or on the golf course. Or "on our parade."

We certainly don't like "spiritual" rain.

Rainstorms like lost jobs, or hurt feelings, or being misunderstood. The rainstorms of health problems, or anger, or loss. The rain that falls during times of grief or depression or brokenness.

Sometimes we even meet people who feel like rainstorms themselves, and it sure would be great just to move on quickly into some sunshine.

But that's not the path that God has given us.

It's life. Sometimes it rains. Thanks be to God.

Not 12 months ago, Georgia was still caught in the grip of a terrible drought of historic proportions. All of us were "praying for rain."

This Spring, have we complained about it?

Most likely. We're human beings.

But the Good News is that God loves us enough not to let us stay the way we are. We can get better, in Him.

I'd like to start by embracing the rain. All kinds of rain. Even the rain that falls on "my parade."

Because after all...the parade really belongs to Jesus. It all does. And it's just a privilege to stand along the side and watch what happens as he passes by.

"We better be appreciatin' the rain."

Grace & Peace,
Adam