Ready for the 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

Mercy Me "Bring the Rain"

About 3 1/2 years ago I was driving home and singing this song along with the radio.  As I was singing it I thought a little deeper about the words I was singing and asked myself,
"am I really asking God to bring the rain? Bring some tough times into my life so that I have a reason to praise him through the difficulty?  Am I really willing to take on something hard so that I can find God's glory in it?"

I decided right then and there that, yes, I was ready for that, and even said it out loud.

OK, sometimes it seems God takes awhile to answer prayers and other times, well, the answer comes right away.

Five minutes later I walked into our house where Paul told me he lost his job that day.

That began our journey toward that life that we are leading right now.  Living and working at Gateway Woods has brought some rain - sometimes sprinkles....sometimes thunderstorms with a little flash flooding involved.

We started working at Gateway a little over 3 years ago (our anniversary was January 12th).  Originally we had said about 3 years and we would probably be moving on.  Well, here we are, having passed the three year mark and still hanging in there.

I wish I could say that I kept that same attitude the last 3 years as I did that day in the car.  But sometimes I just want constant sunshine - no more rain!  A drought full of sunshine sounds good during those moments of flooding.

But, just like plants that can't grow without some rain, I don't really grow either.  Rain shows us how much we need our God.  How we need to rely on him through the sunshine and the rain.

Is there something in your life that you feel God is asking you to do but you are a bit fearful of the rain that may come with it?  

Well, if God brings you to it....He'll bring you through it.

Trust me, it's worth it.

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