Render The Rainy Days...

Rainy days.
Like ‘em? Hate ‘em? Don’t really care?

I think a rainy day has its moments. Sometimes it makes me happy, sometimes it is depressing…sometimes it is fun, especially if you play in the rain and stop worrying about your hair. Ha.

I got out of my car only to step ankle deep in water and mud. Ick. Good thing I did not have on my good shoes. The drizzle from the rain stuck loosely to my bangs and dribbled down the side of my cheek. Normally I may wipe it away quickly but it didn’t bother me a whole lot and I still had bags to unload from the backseat of the car.

I lugged the bags out of the car struggling with them on both arms while trying to close the door. I fumbled with the keys that were latched on my fingers. I always end up intertwining the key rings around my fingers. If only I had some help…or possibly I could have not tried to get all the bags at once. That would have freed my hands up. I finally got a good grip in the house key and headed up the porch.

I walked as quickly as possible through the mud and up the sidewalk, my shoes squishing with water from the mud puddle I had stepped into. As I reached the water saturated steps to the backporch, I should have known better than to attempt to climb them with wet shoes and a dozen grocery bags on my arms. The toe of my shoe did not make it completely on the second step and that is all it took for me to land on my knees, the bags flailing with my arms as I attempted to catch myself. I am still unsure how I did not land on my stomach or better yet my face with the groceries underneath me.

Great, wet shoes, wet pants, wet hair…hmmm.

After several minutes of collecting myself and dragging the bags into the house, laughing to myself silently as I thought about the other times I have fallen in the rain, snow, up the stairs, down the stairs, etc. Too many times to count I am sure. After emptying the bags, I decided to go back outside to enjoy some more of the rain. Despite being wet and somewhat dreary I was calmed by the light pattering rain and breeze that blew into my face. I closed my eyes and took in one of those deep relaxation type breaths. You know-breathe in through your nose, hold for three seconds, breathe out through your mouth. You should try it. It works.

As I leaned over the side of the porch I realized that many of the roses on the rose bush we have were drooped over, waiting to fall to the ground. They were dead. Probably from the lack of water they had been getting up until this weekend. Of course leave it to God to teach me a lesson through my somber moment in the rain. Though all the roses on the outer edge were droopy and dying, there was one fresh bud in the middle. It was small and perfect in every way. The rain had formed drops on the petals and leaves and made it more like a picture moment. I did take one though my camera really isn’t that great.

As I stared at the new bud getting ready to bloom, I thought about the rest of them that were dead. Life can sometimes seem that way. There is a bit of a dry spell and without water we feel like things are falling apart. Sometimes even with water, things still fall apart. Heart ache, disappointment, hard times at work, lack of work, loss of a loved one, sickness, etc. It is my theory that sometimes for a Christian, when it rains it pours (theoretically speaking of course) because Satan knows the Lord has a great plan for life. Not to say that sometimes those of us who are believers don’t bring it on ourselves, but for someone who is seeking God then the first option is more likely.

I thought about the fact that many times things seem dead, like the dozen roses that were drooped over, petals missing. However, in the middle of the sleaze there is a beautiful late bloomer waiting to show off. It is right in the middle of the ugliness-a beauty.

I thought about Ezekiel 37:1-6.
“The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord GOD, you know." 4Then he said to me, "Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD."

Now, I am no theologian, but this Scripture just speaks to me. Though some people say something is dead, God can perform a miracle and make it live. Though Satan would lie and say that nothing good can come of a difficult situation, God can intercede and turn ashes into beauty (Isaiah 61).

If I tend to focus on my current circumstances, then I get off balance in life. I do not know if you know what that is like, but if we focus on what is going on and get our attention of off God, then we fall or at least we feel like we are falling. It may affect each one of us a bit differently, but it is keeping our attention on the Sustainer that helps us to view the small beautiful flower rising up in the middle of the dead. All it needed was a little water.

As I stood there looking at the new flower I thought about what I need to immerse myself in in-order to allow God to do that in my own life. Maybe God is trying to tell you that as well.

Immerse Yourself in…
His Word. His Love. His Spirit.

This is kind of simplistic to think about at first, but I think if we all are honest, we can think of a time when we were focused more on our difficult circumstances, when we felt like God left us alone, when we felt like anything we did was not good enough, etc. The point here is that the dead roses represent these things, but God intends for more than that. We may be tempted to render ourselves and our hearts to the circumstances in which we find ourselves. We may be tempted to render ourselves and our fears of what has happened or what is happening in our lives because nothing is what we wanted it to be, times are hard, etc.

In order to live amongst those tough times, however, we have to render ourselves, our thoughts, heart, emotions, will, etc. to being captivated by God’s Word and His Love. Though the rain may make things seem a bit dreary and hard to see the big picture, I think we ought to allow God to shine in the middle of everything going on.

I don’t know about you but I want to tap into the power of Christ that His Word promises us as His born-again children. Many days we live with mediocrity and do not become or allow God to show out in our lives. Hebrews 13: 20-21 “20Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

What the world says is dead, God says it’s alive.
What the world says is hopeless, God says it’s full of hope.
What the world says is ugly, God says it’s made beautiful.
What the world says is worthless, God says it’s made worthy.
What the world says is unforgivable, God says it’s washed clean.
What the world says is impossible, God says He is able.

What is God trying to speak into your life and heart today through his Word, His Truth, His Love?

I pray that if you are going through a difficult time that you look to the hills where help comes from. When things and situations seem hopeless and dead know that God may just be waiting for a new bloom. He sees beauty where there are ashes. Sometimes we might fall down on our knees in the rain and that is okay. We just have to get back up and let the Lord be our help. He can fill all roles that we need him to be at exactly the right moment.

Render the rainy days to the Lord.
Figuratively or Literally.
Submit them to Him and let Him have His way.
He does not disappoint.