As the rain comes down from heaven

"As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

- Isaiah 55:10-11



"Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants."

- Deuteronomy 32:2



"He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills."

- Psalm 147:8



"How beautiful is the rain!
After the dust and heat,
In the broad and fiery street,
In the narrow lane,
How beautiful is the rain!"

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "Rain in Summer"

For the love of rain

I'd never been a big fan of rain...until recently. I've always preferred the sunshine. Last year's drought has given me an entirely new appreciation for rain. As the earth became incredibly dry last summer, I found myself welcoming any forecast of rain and enjoying it when it came. When we were nearly 14 inches below normal rainfall last year, I would have welcomed a particularly rainy year for 2008 in order to help repair some of the damage from the drought. This year's below average rainfall has only increased my joy at seeing rain. I guess there is some truth to the old adage, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

I now love to watch the rain fall. Even if it means that I have to walk around campus in it or rearrange outdoor plans. So what if I have to get a little wet or be a little flexible? At least the earth is getting some of the nourishment it needs.

So while I still love sunshiney days, I don't mind if there's a rainy one mixed in every once in a while. ;) It takes the sunny days and the rainy ones to achieve the balance needed for things to grow.

And really that could apply to life itself. It takes the seasons of joy and "sunshine"--the good times--and the times of gray skies, rain and storms--often the not-so-good times--to help shape us into the people God desires us to be. And just as we should learn to appreciate both sunshine and rain here on the earth, we should learn to welcome the good and the hard times in our walks with Christ and not let anything steal our joy. We should praise Him at all times and in all circumstances.