Life's Rainfall May Be a Lot More Necessary Than You'd Like • Hilary Bernstein

Sometimes I think that I just want all sunny days for my life. If only things would go smoothly all the time! No tears. No downer days. No discouraging disappointment.

Yet when I look out my window today, it seems like a perfect time to cozy up in a chair with a good book and cup of tea. The water keeps falling and everything looks dreary and miserable and so very much like a soggy April morning.

But I’m thankful for the rain today. I know it will nourish the plants and flowers will bloom even brighter when sunshine returns.

If this is true in nature, why can’t we embrace it in our own lives?

During seasons of downpours, when it seems like everything is going wrong, why can’t we step back, welcome the rain, and choose to endure with patience?

The Lord created rain and He rains down blessing — and His instruction. As Deuteronomy 32:1-3 details:

“Listen, you heavens, and I will speak; hear, you earth, the words of my mouth. Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants. I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Oh, praise the greatness of our God!”

Avoiding a Desert

In nature, when all you have is sunshine, what do you get in return? Parched ground. A desert.

Just like all sunshine and no rain dries everything out, what if the same is true in our own lives?

Of course God can use deserts — He used deserts as places to humble and train His people. But desert experiences were endured on the way to somewhere else. They weren’t the destination.

If we don’t want our lives to end up as barren deserts, full of a strange, otherworldly beauty, we need to welcome the rain. Rain is necessary for vegetation and growth. And the Lord sends it, both on our planet, and in our lives, in order for fresh, new life, to spring up.

Welcoming the Rain

I remember always running to get out of the rain when I was young, like it was awful to get wet. But one day when I was a teenager, I wondered what would happen if I just walked out into a rain storm.

I stood outside without an umbrella, looked up at the rain clouds, and let the rain pour down on me. It soaked me completely, but instead of needing to go anywhere or do anything, I just stood there in my backyard, all drippy and wet.

After that day, I stopped dodging rain storms so often. If there’s no lightning around, and especially if you have no place to go, getting completely soaked is refreshing.

Just like it’s not the end of the world to get rained on, what if hardships aren’t the worst thing to happen to us? What if we need rainy days when moods and catastrophes bring us to our knees, in order for beautiful growth to happen?

If we want our lives to be lush with growth and beauty, just like the great outdoors, we need sunshine and rain. Good times and bad.

If you’re in the middle of one of life’s rainstorms and the downpour just doesn’t seem to let up, remember that this rainy season won’t last forever. Even if you feel like you’re drowning in a flood and wonder if you should start building a figurative ark, remember this storm eventually will pass.

Sunshine will return. And when it does, you’ll be able to see the beautiful way that both sunshine and rain work together to bring lush growth. If you let the Lord do His good work, your life will end up blooming in unexpectedly beautiful ways.

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Hilary

Hilary Bernstein is a Christ follower, wife, homeschooling mama, and writer who helps women experience God's perfect peace in messy, imperfect life. She's happiest when she's hosting friends and family for dinner, going on date nights with her husband, singing along to the radio, traveling with her family, and spending cozy nights at home. The author of fifteen books,Hilary also is Women's Ministry Director at The Chapel in Green, Ohio.