Raining on My Parade

Lately, the view out of my window has looked a lot like this picture. It has rained and flooded and made a general muck of things. It has been raining in my life lately too and I can't decide if it is much needed or making a muck of things. The funny thing about rain is that it exists in nature to water the Earth and provide life and growth and refreshment. But when it comes in either extreme, the effects can be negative. Too much water and the floodgates open. Too little water and everything dries up and perishes. In my life, I am getting showered on. Now, I love music and one of my favorite songwriters is Nicole Nordeman. And she wrote a song that finds its way into my heart quite frequently:

If all that's good and true,

comes from Heaven

Then what's a girl to do

when it rains?

And I'm askin'

why,why,why,why?

I'm shaking a fist in the dark

and I'm askin'

why,why,why,why?

Why does it keep getting harder

to say thanks?

They say that when it rains, it pours. And often times it seems like I have the Job syndrome where it's one sucker punch after another. And it really seems difficult to find a way to be thankful for all that rain.

But they also say that "This too shall pass". And that is also true. Today it may be raining, but tomorrow might be a beautiful day. It's like this picture I saw of a cemetery in Galveston,TX:

Amidst all of the symbols and markers of death, God reminds us that there can still be beauty. In the darkest hours, in the saddest of circumstances - there are still traces of life and growth. So with that in mind, I need to change my heart song to this familiar tune instead:

Singin' in the rain,

just singin' in the rain,

What a glorious feeling - I'm happy again.

Let the stormy clouds chase,

everyone from the place.

Come on with the rain,

I've a smile on my face.

I walk down the lane,

with a happy refrain

just singin' and dancin' in the rain.

There are days when I really hate the rain because it makes everything messy and gloomy and keeps me indoors where I feel trapped and isolated. But then again, there are times when I feel dry and cracked and a little rain is exactly what I need to keep my face pointed towards the sky and my roots stretching down. Because they also say" Don't wait out the storm, learn to dance in the rain". They sure do say a lot don't they? At any rate, it seems like some pretty good advice.