The First Rain

The first thing that I did when I got up this morning was to fling open the blinds and take a peek outside.  The first winter storm had blown in during the night and everything glistened with the sparkling rain drops that graced their surfaces!  I think the rain came a little earlier than expected as it was supposed to rain pretty hard all day today.  Instead it rained all night!  I’m not sure if that was because it was just a quickly moving front, or because my son and I had prayed that it wouldn’t rain this afternoon so the Giants vs Cardinal’s NLCS deciding game seven could be played tonight in San Francisco while the Giants were still hot!

When I put down my book and got up to turn off the lights last night, I suddenly realized that it had begun to rain.  I immediately went to our large patio sliding window and stood there watching and listening to the rain.  I am not sure why, but I have always enjoyed listening to the rain!  It must be because it is so relaxing to me!  I can remember a time many years ago when my wife and I went for a weekend to the Inn at the Tides resort on the coast at Bodega Bay, just about a 45 minute ride from our home. 

As we were sitting in our comfortable room on the evening of the first day of our stay, we heard the sound of the rain coming down on the roof.  We opened the curtains on the large picture window and just sat there for quite a while entranced by the sounds and sights of the storm.  In fact, we left the curtains open all night and went to bed just so we could enjoy and watch the progression of the storm throughout the night and into the dawn!  It was quite a fun weekend.

Last night when I returned to our bedroom, I turned off the small fan we had running and opened up the window more so that we could sleep to the sound of the rainfall.  I always sleep better when it rains, and last night was no exception!

This morning as we sat at the kitchen table I was reminded of the story of the healing of the lame man in Acts chapter three.  After the crowds had gathered to gawk at the evidence of the miraculous healing, Peter began to preach Christ to them.  In verse nineteen he encourages those listening to repent and receive Jesus as their personal Savor and Lord.  Then he makes the statement that “times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.”  (KJV)  That got me to thinking about the refreshing that this first storm of the season has brought to our yard.  Everything just looks happy and healthy!  The greens are greener, the flowers are brighter and even the stones in the aggregate cement patio look like they are shining!

I think that this is a vivid example of what the rain of God does to us when we allow ourselves to get drenched in the downpour of His love.  It is a time of refreshing to our entire being.  The aftereffects of His love make us look happier and healthier!  It is sort of like the day after our first night at the Inn on that weekend awhile back.  We may not have gotten a lot of sleep as we enjoyed the rainfall, but we sure felt happy and quite relaxed as we ate the complimentary breakfast hand in hand at the table near the window in our room the next morning.

So while I don’t know what the weather may be like in your neck of the world, you can still enjoy the aftereffects of the rain… God’s rain, by simply spending some quality time with Him this week.  Find a quiet comfortable spot, open up your Bible and let Him rain down His refreshing times upon your weary soul.  Have a great week.  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”