A month ago...it rained.
This was the second time it rained since we moved back to California in July.
I can't speak for everyone, but for the most part, Southern California doesn't do rain very well. I don't meet many happy people on a rainy day in So Cal :) I get it. Our streets flood, there are more accidents on the road, we walk around like little wet dogs with wet shoes and wet hair, and all of this because our streets and drains aren't made to hold the amount of water that falls, and we don't change the way we drive or dress to account for the floods around us.
We aren't prepared, so we suffer.
The last rainy day we had, I was no better. I decided to go to Costco, with my girls...while it poured...well, it was no Midwest storm, but for us, it was coming down! After living through 3 years of Illinois weather, I've grown accustomed to running in and out of buildings in crazy weather really fast to avoid having to bundle my kids up like stay-puffed marshmallow men for a short drive and then a quick dash inside wherever we were going. On this particular day, it was (what I call) a happy rain. Temperatures were still in the 70s, there wasn't any wind, the drops were tiny (though there were a lot of them) and I thought..."Ahhhh, this is nothing! Let's go to Costco!" Dashing into the store was fine. It was the trip out of the warehouse with two girls and a cart full of food when I began to second guess my decision. By the time they were in their seats and I made it back to my cart, puddles had already begun to form in the crevices of my groceries. Not fun. I was drenched, though my food survived, thankfully!
Lately, its become a strong desire of mine, to be prepared for rainy days. Not actual rainy days, though I could use common sense there too! God has been stirring in me a passion to put on the full armor of God...to be in His Word...to prepared for the stormy days we are told in the Bible WILL come our way.
The following practical steps have become part of my routine...
Waking up EARLY to read His Word before my kids wake up. I want my heart to be fully clothed in the richness of His presence and wrapped up in HIS truth before I step into moments of leading the kids God's called me to raise in Christ, for His glory. This is way too big a job for me on my own strength. I must ask God to go before me in this every morning, without exception.
Following a healthy routine. I'm in the process of finishing my household binder. In it, I have outlined a physically and spiritually healthy routine to follow each day. I love organization and function best when I have a clear set of expectations. So do my kids :) The past three years have been VERY important years in my life where God showed me how life-giving it is to follow Him off the beaten path, even if it means changing the plan last minute. I know there were countless conversations and precious moments shared with people in IL because I learned that life can happen outside of my plan for the day. I get it. I fully embrace God as the editor-in-chief of daily plan. I just know in this season of my life with 4 kids and a husband trying to finish a dissertation...it's nice to have a rough draft to submit to the BOSS. :) More on my household binder to come...
In this life, there will be rain...even storms that we can barely see our way out of.
When we live life knowing the One who opens the clouds, the rain seems a lot less scary...a lot less of a bother...because you know He won't let you be overwhelmed if you place your trust in Him.
When you know His Word, you know He says there is a purpose for it.
I've grown so close to Jesus during seasons when I felt like the rain would never end...
That's when I learned that He is who He says He is.
He is our healer. He is our Savior. He is the everlasting God.
I know that more securely now than ever, because I've needed healing, I've needed saving and I've needed to know that He really wouldn't leave me stuck in the flood without a place to run.
I'm on a life-long quest of learning how to delight in my God while living in this world.
I can't think of a better picture of what that looks like than this...
Even as the cars continued to speed through the puddles right next to our gate...
Oh Jesus, what a joy it is to delight in You. It even leads us to do sometimes what looks foolish in the eyes of the world. Teach us what it looks like to dance in the storms of our life today, holding unswervingly to the Hope we have in YOU...the Almighty God...the One who will never leave us or forsake us, and because of whom we can actually walk confidently through the rain and maybe, just maybe...even dance with JOY because of the intimacy with you that we find...
