Reason #518
Where did the week go? This is the fastest week I've had in a long, long time. It seems like it was just Sunday and now it's Friday night. On the way home from lunch today, I was flooded with an old memory when I heard a song on the radio. It's not a meaningful song, per say. It's a song that I heard at the Taylor Swift concert my mom and I went to 2 years ago. Sung by the opening act, and it was a song that stuck in my head. Because it was a song about a man who made a mistake, who regretted it, and who realized that he deserved all the pain and hurt that was befalling him. Not quite the song you hear often. Usually, it's the other way around. And so as much as this song strangely haunted me, the words stayed with me. Words of falling rain, of lost chances, and of lasting pain.
Aaron and I have had a super busy week. We've had one evening this week where we were able to spend time at home. And so I couldn't be more thankful that it's finally the weekend. Finally a few days to spend a lot of time together. And I realize that I've come to live for the weekends. Looking forward to the days off where we can see one another for more than 4 or 5 hours a day. Yet it wasn't too terribly long ago that I hated weekends. I dreaded them and wished them away. I looked forward to the work week so I could be distracted and occupied and I didn't have so much free time to think or be by myself. And it seemed like such punishment. It seemed like all the pain and hurt I could possibly handle was befalling me. Figuratively speaking, it was constant rain and storms and life seemed so unfair. It seemed like I was the one receiving the worst treatment possible, and I didn't understand. I didn't understand why things seemed to take forever to get anywhere, much less anywhere good. Why were the storm clouds refusing to break and let a little sunshine through? Were the rain drops ever going to stop falling?
And as these thoughts came back to me today, I thought about a post I wrote a long time ago about reaping what you sow. Mostly, about reaping with tears and sowing with joy. And I thought about my life now, about how abundant it is. About how it's so much more than I could have ever thought up or imagined on my own and I realize that if I had been spared the pain and hurt and storms, I wouldn't be writing about this tonight. I realize that if those storm clouds had ceased to follow me, ceased to let rain fall for so long, the beauty that is now wouldn't have ever grown. And I realize that it was never punishment. It wasn't bad treatment or a harsh hand that I was being dealt. It was preparation. Preparation for now. It was the method God was using to grow gratitude and joy in my heart for what the next season would bring. It was how He was teaching me, changing me, growing me, and creating new things. And so it had to rain really hard for a long time because God was going to do really big things.
Think about Noah. On a boat as rain fell for 40 days because God was taking what was not honoring to Him, allowing it to be washed away, and starting over from scratch with a new creation. And for 40 days Noah was thrown about by the waves and the wind and he was forced to just ride out the storm in his boat. He was tossed and turned and I'm sure tired of it all. But don't you know the joy that filled his heart when it was all said and done and He saw the beauty of a new thing, a rainbow? The joy that God loved him enough to spare him and then allow him to experience something even better? The joy that He felt when He realized God's plan for Noah was so much greater than Noah had ever imagined? Well, that's how I feel tonight as I think back. I praise God for loving me enough to rescue me. For having an incredible plan and purpose in place from the start. For pouring down the rain so that something incredibly beautiful could grow. And I praise Him that after all was said and done, He gave me the opportunity to experience something even better than I would have ever known had the storms never come.
And so maybe this is you right now, and the rain just won't go away. The clouds won't part and you haven't seen the sun in a long, long time. Take heart, God is doing big things even though you can't see them right now. Maybe it just looks like a flood, maybe you feel like you might drown if it doesn't stop soon. But know that God is watering the very place where He is going to grow a miracle. A place where He will change your life. And He's getting you ready for it, whatever it may be. Noah didn't expect to see a rainbow, and I didn't expect all of the new blessings I received either. So be encouraged that after all is said and done, new things await you. New blessings, creations, opportunities, and experiences are coming your way. We serve a God who allows the rain to fall when and where and as long as it needs to, and at the right moment, it will stop.
#518 - Because He waters the places where He is going to grow miracles.
"You have all wisdom and do great and mighty miracles. You see the conduct of all people, and you give them what they deserve." - Jeremiah 32:19
Aaron and I have had a super busy week. We've had one evening this week where we were able to spend time at home. And so I couldn't be more thankful that it's finally the weekend. Finally a few days to spend a lot of time together. And I realize that I've come to live for the weekends. Looking forward to the days off where we can see one another for more than 4 or 5 hours a day. Yet it wasn't too terribly long ago that I hated weekends. I dreaded them and wished them away. I looked forward to the work week so I could be distracted and occupied and I didn't have so much free time to think or be by myself. And it seemed like such punishment. It seemed like all the pain and hurt I could possibly handle was befalling me. Figuratively speaking, it was constant rain and storms and life seemed so unfair. It seemed like I was the one receiving the worst treatment possible, and I didn't understand. I didn't understand why things seemed to take forever to get anywhere, much less anywhere good. Why were the storm clouds refusing to break and let a little sunshine through? Were the rain drops ever going to stop falling?
And as these thoughts came back to me today, I thought about a post I wrote a long time ago about reaping what you sow. Mostly, about reaping with tears and sowing with joy. And I thought about my life now, about how abundant it is. About how it's so much more than I could have ever thought up or imagined on my own and I realize that if I had been spared the pain and hurt and storms, I wouldn't be writing about this tonight. I realize that if those storm clouds had ceased to follow me, ceased to let rain fall for so long, the beauty that is now wouldn't have ever grown. And I realize that it was never punishment. It wasn't bad treatment or a harsh hand that I was being dealt. It was preparation. Preparation for now. It was the method God was using to grow gratitude and joy in my heart for what the next season would bring. It was how He was teaching me, changing me, growing me, and creating new things. And so it had to rain really hard for a long time because God was going to do really big things.
Think about Noah. On a boat as rain fell for 40 days because God was taking what was not honoring to Him, allowing it to be washed away, and starting over from scratch with a new creation. And for 40 days Noah was thrown about by the waves and the wind and he was forced to just ride out the storm in his boat. He was tossed and turned and I'm sure tired of it all. But don't you know the joy that filled his heart when it was all said and done and He saw the beauty of a new thing, a rainbow? The joy that God loved him enough to spare him and then allow him to experience something even better? The joy that He felt when He realized God's plan for Noah was so much greater than Noah had ever imagined? Well, that's how I feel tonight as I think back. I praise God for loving me enough to rescue me. For having an incredible plan and purpose in place from the start. For pouring down the rain so that something incredibly beautiful could grow. And I praise Him that after all was said and done, He gave me the opportunity to experience something even better than I would have ever known had the storms never come.
And so maybe this is you right now, and the rain just won't go away. The clouds won't part and you haven't seen the sun in a long, long time. Take heart, God is doing big things even though you can't see them right now. Maybe it just looks like a flood, maybe you feel like you might drown if it doesn't stop soon. But know that God is watering the very place where He is going to grow a miracle. A place where He will change your life. And He's getting you ready for it, whatever it may be. Noah didn't expect to see a rainbow, and I didn't expect all of the new blessings I received either. So be encouraged that after all is said and done, new things await you. New blessings, creations, opportunities, and experiences are coming your way. We serve a God who allows the rain to fall when and where and as long as it needs to, and at the right moment, it will stop.
#518 - Because He waters the places where He is going to grow miracles.
"You have all wisdom and do great and mighty miracles. You see the conduct of all people, and you give them what they deserve." - Jeremiah 32:19