And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow ~ Gilbert K. Chesterton

I love rain! I really do. There is something about the clouds opening up and water falling from the sky that leaves me in awe at the intricate way that God has designed the Earth to continue on. Our garden grows, the flowers bloom, the grass gets greener. And at times, it is nice to just sit inside and watch the rain pour down and sip some hot coffee or tea, enjoying the fact that perhaps, just perhaps, where you were so urgent to go wasn’t  that important anyhow.

Now its time for an honest confession. Just this month, thunderstorms in generally have had the reverse effect on me. Instead of being that soothing, relaxing experience I am sure they were created to be, they have left me on edge and begging God in prayer to “please take them away!” If you live in Cheverly, you know what I am talking about and why. After two large storms that brought down our biggest tree as well as left us without power for 3 days, I am a bit weary when I hear rumbling in the sky.

That’s why, last Thursday night, right as I put my head on my pillow, when I saw lightning and heard the thunder, I immediately began to pray that it would just stop and that our power wouldn’t go out. It flickered, then came back on. Whew.

On Saturday morning, it decided to rain…and rain…and rain some more. Instead of being my normal “lets stay dry” mom and do something fun inside, I decided to just let the girls go crazy in the puddles at the park. Barefoot. As you will see from the picture above, Chesed especially relished in the adventure! We all three squished the wet mud and water between our toes and giggled. We ran around in the damp grass and slid down an extra-slippery slide. It was a blast. Then we came home and I made them homemade banana bread waffles for lunch! (for mine I used whole raw milk and a mix of whole wheat flour and wheat germ). The girls and I gobbled them up and I realized what a wonderful morning we had because we chose to just enjoy the rain.

It left me thinking that I wish I always “looked up” and found the good out of every circumstance that comes my way in life.

But sometimes the storms aren’t just physical, are they? I want to talk about disappointment today. Frustration. Hope Deferred. Patience wearing thin. I’m talking about when you look forward to something with great and eager anticipation and then – it doesn’t happen. It rains on your parade. You didn’t get the job you thought you would. The house you were going to buy  fell through. The trip you were going to take got canceled. Or how about when your child gets sick and you think “Ok, I can handle this.” You’re attitude is cheerful and optimistic. But then, your other kid gets sick. And you get sick. And your spouse has to work overtime and you are left to manage yourself and the children (while you are sick) all by yourself? (This recently happened to a good friend of mine). What we say when these things happen is, “Wow, when it rains…it pours!” Meaning, sometimes in life, everything seems to fall apart at once.

I wish I had the answer to why these things happen the way they do. Why, sometimes, does everything seem to fall apart all at once? I have determined after 32 years of living on this planet that is the wrong question to be asking. The question is – when circumstances get you down, how do you handle it?

Do you fall apart?

Do you get angry?

Do you blame God or other people?

I remember when I was a kid, my mom hated seeing me hurt. She would try everything in her power to alleviate my pain – be it physical, emotional, spiritual. She was amazing. But there were some pains in life that she couldn’t fix, and I think she realized over time that this was where I had a real chance to grow. To mature. To respond well to the hand that had been dealt to me or to find a way out (on my own) of the pit I had fallen (or jumped) into.

Grace has been sick the last few days and I found out she had a fever only hours before we were going to have a wonderful Mommy/daughter date to a wedding. We had picked out our dresses, planned for a sitter for Chesed, and she literally talked about it every day for a week. I was thrilled that she was so excited and anticipatory of something like this. Then, we couldn’t go. I will be honest. At first, I was just sad with her, cried with her, hugged her and said, “Its okay, honey. We will have fun on our own.” But inside, I was a bit mad. “Why did she have to get sick now, Lord? Don’t you know how much she wanted to have this experience?“

After some grumbling prayers, the Lord graciously lead me back to James 1:2-4 – you know what I am talking about, right? I loved this translation:

“Dear brothers and sisters,when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”

An opportunity for joy? When everything is falling apart all around you? When you are totally bummed out and discouraged? How is this a time for joy??! Like many aspects of the Christian life, this can only be understood with an eye on the eternal. Oh RIGHT…the reason I named my blog “This Eternal Moment” – because every moment, when lived for the Lord and with eternity in mind, is never wasted but well invested.

So I ought to see that this is an opportunity to teach my daughter how to biblically handle disappointment. And an opportunity for me to trust God and to serve my daughter in a different way. And perhaps, for us to rest and reflect on the brevity and uncertainty of ANY of our plans.

And perhaps, when the thunder rolls and our lights flicker, I can keep an open hand and a heart at peace and believe that whatever happens, God will give me the strength I need to handle it in that moment.

How about you? Have you had any parades planned lately that got rained on? Any major or minor disappointments? How did you handle them?  What did they reveal in you? Will you, trembling and maybe even still angry, make the choice to move towards trust and joy today (Remember that all things work together for your good and God’s glory!) and away from self pity, sulking, and pessimism?

I would love to hear the challenges that you might be going through and how we can strengthen one another in this race….because it’s a marathon, not a sprint. And what we need now is endurance to keep on putting our faith and hope in the right place – in God alone.