Bring the Rain

"I am Yours regardless of
The dark clouds that may loom above
Because You are much greater than my pain.
You, who made a way for me
By suffering Your destiny
So tell me what's a little rain?
Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory.
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain."
~ MercyMe

If we can just learn that going through trials brings us to a better place.  It is such a difficult concept to grasp.  We tend to get dramatic and think we are "gonna die"!  But there are so many examples of this.  Without taxing my brain too much, here are a few examples of trial leading to glory:

the passing of a baby through the birth canal
rain produces flowers in spring and snow in winter
the fire purifies the silver to make something beautiful
the potter molds the clay to his will and makes something useful

If we could just see the difficult moments as moments of victory, knowing that it is evidence that we are moving toward a better place.  In our human-ness we tend to think we will be in this place FOR-E-VER....

May I suggest?  Don't look down.  Keep alert.  Watch for moments where God shows you He is with you and He cares.  Sometimes we are so busy feeling sorry for ourselves we miss His miracle!

I know I have found it in the extraordinary service of a waiter; or a patient accounting clerk on the phone; or the random call from my son.  I also have been shown that God uses me in the same way.  Yes, even me!

I will never forget the lady at the speed networking meeting I was running.  As I darted around from table to table, making sure everyone found a spot, there were times I would touch someone's shoulder to get their attention or pat a back as I passed by.  In the whirlwind of it all, I didn't realize until after the meeting that God used me.

The lady came up in the hustle-bustle of cleaning up after the meeting.  She was teary-eyed, which is VERY uncommon at a business meeting.  But I have seen that look before.  Her eyes were sad, lonely, hurt.  And she said to me, "You will never know what your touch meant to me."

I was kinda caught off guard because, like I said, this is unusual conversation for a business situation.  And honestly, I didn't remember touching her at all.  But God gave me the grace to put my hands on her shoulders again and look her in the eyes and say the right words of comfort.  This was another human being, crying out for someone to notice her.

I never knew her name.  In fact, I don't think I ever saw her again.  But that memory keeps me in check sometimes, helping me to keep my eyes open for other wounded people in need of any small kindness.

As we experience the rain, the peace, the joy, the glory, we can truly be thankful that God has His hand on our shoulder.  And because we have experienced His unending love, we can extend our hand to others.

So as we move through life today, rather than being self-absorbed looking for our answers, let's see how we can give to someone else.  I always feel so fulfilled when God lets me be an ambassador for Him.  It makes all of my personal rain smell sweet.

Dear God, I always want to be thankful for the life that only You can give.  Help me to be better than selfishly thinking of only my problems.  Give me Your eyes to see the need of others and the courage to speak, smile or reach out as You would have me to do.  Thank you for all You have done so that I can boldly come to You and make my petitions known.  Your eye is on the sparrow so I know You watch over me. Amen. ~Me