I love the rain. I’ve always loved rainy days filled with quiet moments, reflection, and cleansing. Ask my former roommate, Sara Hernandez. Chai, books, and rain make a perfect day in my eyes.
But today I saw God’s Spirit in the rain. Maybe that sounds weird but I’m not sure how else to phrase it.
I’m not sure if you’ve heard but last week fires were breaking out all around the property we were staying at and we were fighting forest fires with buckets and pots of water. You can read more about that here from Ashli.
The land has been so dry and apparently a certain kind of tree here just spontaneously combusts and with the foliage being so dry it just catches like wild fire, literally. As I was carrying huge pots of water with Amy I started praying for rain. We desperately needed rain. The next morning I woke up and it had rained. Crazy right?
But that wasn’t enough. The land sucked it up and within 30 minutes the ground was dry again. We needed more. So I prayed for rain.
This morning I woke up and it was raining and it kept raining. We waited for it to stop because we needed to go tear up the garden but after a few hours we headed out with our rain jackets. I was secretly pining for my rain boots back home but the garden needed to get ready for planting so here we went. Remember it’s Spring here.
While I was out there working in the rain trying to have a good attitude and a thankful heart I had a realization. We sing songs like “Let It Rain” and “Downpour” relating God’s presence to rain but I was out in the rain seeing that is was essential.
Rain not only makes life possible but it also stopped the fires from igniting around Back Door, SA. As we began pulling up last year’s corn stalks I began to thank God for softening the ground for us.
How often have we read scripture with the wrong spirit and not let its truth transform our hearts? How often do we experience worship as a concert rather than a time to give glory back to the God who deserves it?
Jesus told the parable of the seeds and unless the seed took root in fertile ground the seeds died. Hearts softened by the Holy Spirit are absolutely essential for growth and pruning. What I have began to pray with more fervor and frequency is that the Holy Spirit come and give me His heart. I want his eyes, his words, and his prayers as I go out among his children and share His love but how can I do that unless I let him in to soften my heart towards him?
Thank you God for the rain. The Back Door community and I desperately needed it.
