Walking in the Rain

   When I found myself walking in the rain during my Saturday morning walk, I started first to plead, “Lord, don't let it rain on me.”  Then, when the rain didn't stop, I changed my prayer to, “Lord, let me make it to someplace nearby so I can call home for a ride.  Please let somebody be there to take the call.”  As the rain continued to fall and I was getting wetter and wetter, I resigned to a simple, “Lord, what should I do?”

   When I finally reached the door of a neighborhood restaurant, I considered using their phone, when it occurred to me that I was wet already.  The hair was already a lost cause.  It wasn’t storming; it was just raining.  So, why would I, at this point, call for somebody to come get me…have to wait on them, and, then,  miss out on receiving the full benefit of what I’d started out to do in the first place __ get some much needed exercise.  I had reached the halfway mark of my goal.  I was about to sacrifice the second half benefit all because of a little rain.  Instead, I set out walking back home.

   On the walk home, I noticed that leaves had begun to sprout on the trees…flowers were blooming, and the grass was turning green.  I saw squirrels running rampant, chasing nuts, chasing each other and whatever else it is they scamper in search of from tree to tree.  And, yes, as cliché as it may seem, I heard birds singing as though they were part of one big chorus, each singing its part.  I would have missed all of this if I had made that call to be picked up and rescued from the rain. All of this I would have missed had I turned back too soon. 

       Have you ever missed something because you turned back too soon?  Have you ever missed a blessing, some beauty, because you didn’t want to risk being inconvenienced or made uncomfortable?

       Before I reached home, it stopped raining. I didn't even realize when it stopped; I just looked around and realized it wasn't.

       And what lessons had I learned or insight had I gleaned from this brief episode of walking in the rain?   Perhaps it affirmed for me that God sends the rain in our lives, not to bother us or inconvenience us, but to nourish us, refresh us and to quench our thirst.   And it is God, the maker of the rain, who determines when it will fall, how long it will fall, and for what purpose it will fall.   For He has said, “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 for the sower and bread for the eater… 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)     

   Simply put, life goes on in spite of the rain; it goes on after the rain, and, yes, life goes on because of the rain, but, when the rain is finished and His purpose is accomplished, the sun will shine again.

   Kathy H. Culmer

   St. James Episcopal Church - Houston