Tickled by the Rain

Tonight I had an urge to sit on my back step, listen to my iPod, and just enjoy some time outdoors with my Creator.

And when I got to my back door, I realized it was raining. And I was disappointed. Here I was looking forward to a beautiful evening with God and it was raining.

But I went outside anyway. And as I sat there in the rain, I remembered this one day at Wheaton 11 years ago:

*not an actual photo. I know you might be misled.

(At the time I was keeping an illustrative journal of what I've come to know as God Sightings.) And on this particular night, I was sitting on the swings outside my dorm, where I liked to go and pray sometimes. And it started to rain that night, too, as I was praying about all my worries about the future. What if I never found a job? What if I couldn't make it as an adult? Would God really bring me a job I would love? What did I even really want to do?

And then God send the rain. The drops were soft and they tickled my face. The rain hadn't bothered me then; I felt like God was reaching down to touch me and tell me that it was going to be okay.

I've been through a lot since that night. Good times, bad times. Times that shook my faith and made me angry with God. Times that strengthened my faith and made me rejoice in God.

So tonight I sat out there in the rain and listened to my iPod, and started to sing along. One of the songs I listened to was Never Once by Matt Redman.

As I sang memories of the past 11 years flashed in my head.

Seeing just how far we've comeKnowing that for every step, you were with us

I thought of God's faithful presence through all those times.

Carried by your constant grace
Held within your perfect peace

That night 11 years ago I was so worried that I'd fail. And I've certainly failed at times.

Knowing every victory was your power in us.

And I've had victories. But through it all, I never walked alone.

Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Yes our hearts can say
Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did you leave us on our own
You are faithful
God you are faithful

God's faithfulness has been the constant in my life through an internship, a first-job-out-of college, moving to a new state, going through a rocky marriage and a subsequent divorce, job changes and job stress, nearly losing my dad, heartache, and joy.

And that ticklish touch of tonight's rain was a wonderful reminder of God's faithful presence in every step of my life since that fretful college prayer in the rain in 2003.

Wildfire

Ever since High Park Fire started, I've been praying for it. I'm so excited to be able to say that it is now 100% contained, three weeks after it started. What an amazing accomplishment for the firefighters who tirelessly worked on it.

As I've been praying for it, I've been thinking about what lessons the fire carries with it. I reflected on James 3 one morning and it took on new meaning as I was seeing firsthand the devastation a wildfire can cause. The fact that my words can have that kind of devastating impact? Convicting.

But the thing that has really stuck with me is that rain is usually used as a metaphor for troubles. Michael W. Smith sang of the death of a loved one when he sang, "Into every life a little rain must fall, and losing one you love is like a storm." And people speak of troublesome times by saying things like, "when it rains, it pours."

And yet here I was, just praying for rain. Praying hard. On my hands and knees, begging God to send rain. And I still am - the High Park Fire may be fully contained but others still rage...and rain will help keep new fires from starting.

It finally started raining this week, during my church's VBS. Normally churches pray that it won't rain during VBS. But no one was praying that at my church this week. And when the rain interfered with our programming, the children's director thanked God for the rain and noted it was no big deal to rearrange our plans...keep the rain coming. Kids, volunteers, were dancing in the rain, standing out in it and catching it on their tongues, basking in the glory of rain. We all let out a cheer when one person got a phone alert about a flash flood warning. I'd never seen a reaction like that to rain before. Especially rain that happens during VBS.

I've always liked rain. I don't even own an umbrella because I like getting wet in the rain. But I've never realized how needed it was until now.

It kinda snuck up on me. Maybe the fire officials and such were more aware of the impending danger of our dry state. But me? I knew we hadn't gotten as much snow this winter, I guess. But my sprinkler's been keeping my lawn nice and green, my showers have been plentiful...so it just didn't feel "droughty" to me.

And then High Park Fire started. And soon others. Some by things as simple as a tire rim falling off a car and causing sparks to fly on the road. A tire rim. That's how dry it is.

And in all this I realized...if rain is a metaphor for troubles, we desperately need them. We can so easily become complacent in our faith when there's no rain falling. This was Satan's premise for testing Job. Satan believed that it was too easy for Job to worship God - everything was going well for him.

But the fact is, if we don't have troubles to test our faith, our faith becomes as dry as a forest of beetle-killed trees. And the damage that can happen when a little spark starts will destroy lives. We need the rain to keep us humble and prevent much greater destruction.

So whether you're experiencing rain in your life right now or you do in the future, remember how valuable that rain is. It might just be preventing devastation to your faith that is so great, you couldn't even imagine the damage.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." - James 1:2-3

"I pray for rain to come,
And wash away what has made me numb.
I pray for a raging storm to drown the sin in me.
And the rain comes in the nick of time,
I swallow hard 'cuz my throat's been dry.
The rain comes beating on my skin,
'til I'm washed away, nothing left within,
When your rain comes.
Your rain comes."

- PFR