Dancin' in the Rain

Rainy days are easy days to get down in the dumps-- it's dreary, probably a little cold, and the rain comes and goes. The past two days have been a little bit of dreary with the occasional ray of sunshine. 

Yesterday it started as a beautiful morning- the sun was shining and I sat outside to eat my breakfast. I made a pit stop at Bigby to get an iced coffee before I went into work and I was all gung-ho and ready for the day. 

Then the clouds came, then the rain. It got me thinking about how quickly the rain and storms can come out of nowhere. Similar with life, things can change in the blink of an eye. Everything can be fine and dandy one minute, then with a phone call or a conversation or just anything, everything can change.

It's easy to get frustrated, down, and go about life with a negative attitude when things turn out differently than we'd hoped. Maybe we didn't get the job we'd hoped for, the grade we wanted, the date didn't go as well as we'd hoped, the tears came, the hurt consumed us, the bad overshadowed all of the good and we got lost in the negativity that life was throwing at us.

I've been there- I've felt emptiness, pain, regret, fear, insecurity, self-conscious, not good enough, defeated, torn, sadness.. Haven't we all? Different moments breed different emotions and they're not always our best. I've been consumed by it- i've let it overcome me and there's been times throughout my life when I've actually had no words to pray or say and I didn't even know how to pray because I couldn't come up with any words to say. 

That's the beauty of Him, the beauty of having a relationship with someone who literally doesn't need you to say anything, because He knows what your heart is feeling and He knows why and He knows what's going to come out of your situation. 

Philipians 4:7 gives me peace in moments like that.
 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

We might not understand how He can do it- but He is there, and he is protecting us and guiding us and using moments in our lives to mold us into the person He created us to be. 

So when the rain comes and you feel like you just can't go on anymore- remember this.. He's using the storms in your life to strengthen you. He doesn't allow anything to happen that you cannot handle and you might not understand why right now, or even in this lifetime, but you will one day see what He was up to. 

He created the world, he healed the sick, he walked on water.. don't doubt that he can't give you the things you need to get through what you're going through.

If you want a good song to listen to about how a-m-azing our God is, listen to Chris Tomlin's "Impossible Things." If you don't wanna listen, here's some of the lyrics that ring so very true. 

Though I walk through the valley
Darkness surrounding me
There You prepare a table, hmm-hmm
In the presence of my enemies, yeah-eh

There is no healer
Like the Lord our maker
There is no equal to the King of kings, oh-ohhh
Our God is with us, we will fear no evil

Next time the sun fades into clouds, the clouds bring the rain, and you're feeling like you're stuck in the darkness and you're searching for the sunlight in the dead of the night,  just look up. Go out and dance in the rain and be grateful that whatever trials you're going through will bring you new perspectives, they'll mold you, and no matter what, God knows your heart and He is always there to cry out to.

Like the thunderstorms and rain that falls, it doesn't last forever. Nor do the tough times and moments you feel like giving up. Push through knowing that you are loved infinitely and that God's purpose for your life is so much more than you can even imagine. 

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