It’s Dark, Rainy and Cold Today…

I awoke this morning to a dark and dreary day outside my bedroom window.  But you know, even though it looked that way, that is not how my first peek from that side-of-the-house-facing window greeted me.  Instead I felt lifted up!  There was a certain sense of expectation in the air… which is something I haven’t felt for some time now since the passing of my lovely wife almost two months ago.

I was a little disappointed as I looked over the yard from the bedroom viewpoint though, when I didn’t immediately spot some wildlife scampering around the yard.  On most days it is pretty easy to find a squirrel or two on the fence, little birds picking out seeds on the lawn and a rabbit or two chewing on some green delicacy that came up in the grass.  But I guess the rain caused then to stay warm and dry today in whatever shelter they could find.

We seem to go through a pattern during the end of the summer when the critters around the yard tend to lessen their presence and then make a come back appearance as the fall season approaches.  And that is where we are now as October comes to a close.  In the late afternoon yesterday when I took Fiver out to play catch in the backyard, he quickly scared off our neighborhood Cooper’s Hawk who took quick flight to escape 75lbs of white fur bounding his way!  Then as I tossed his mini football across the yard I enjoyed watching a female Cardinal hop from branch to branch in the plentitude of trees along our fence line and listen to the other hidden birds “talking” to one another amongst the tree tops.

But alas, that was not the plan for this morning!  But it didn’t seem to matter as I felt the Father’s peace and abounding joy making an impact on my heart, despite the grey clouds and wet weather outside.  Have you ever had a morning like that? 

As I began to pray over the Word a little while later, I sensed the Lord’s desire for me to look up some scriptures that talk about the rain, so I did a quick word search in my Bible study program eSword.  The verse that quickly caught my attention was Psalm 72:6 in the King James Version which declares: “He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.”  Well, that translation made me laugh as I had been thinking about that very subject while I was out back with Fiver the day before!

While walking around the yard I noticed that the lawn was most likely going into dormancy for the winter, but I was also thinking about how nice some rain would be as I had recently mowed the lawns!  It’s like the Lord was reading my mind!  Then I switched over to the Contemporary English Version’s take of that particular verse and began to understand where the Lord was going with the idea of rain…

This modern translation states: “Let him be as helpful as rain that refreshes the meadows and the ground.”   It was the “refreshment” of the Lord that I felt when I arose and looked out that window and could have easily taken what I was seeing in the wrong way!  The Lord wanted me to see the “refreshing” that He was doing in me through the visual presentation of the rain outside.  Just as He refreshes the meadows and the ground, He has been wanting to refresh me with the rain of His truth, His peace, His expectation, His joy and His love.

When Piper and I first started going to what would become our favorite camping place up at Plumas Eureka State Park in the Sierras in northern California in the mid-1970’s, there was beautiful wildlife all over the place.  There was an area in Little Jamieson Creek that flows throughout the park where you could watch the beavers working on the monster dam they had built.  The campsites had all kinds of little critters running around the ground, scurrying up and down the trees and flying amongst the tall pines.  Over the years since then, much of the wildlife seemed to have moved deeper into the woods away from the campgrounds.

One of our favorite places to walk was through the magnificent meadow in the park.  We came across all kinds of animal tracks, scat and other tell-tale signs of the various animals who called the park their home.  We even came face to face with a porcupine one morning… but slowly retreated as we figured it best to allow him his space!

But with all that life, we also encountered a few thunderstorms along the way!  On our first or second trip to the park we got there just as a series of thunderstorms blew through the mountains.  And after three days of hard rain we were beginning to not be so happy-go-lucky!  It’s one of the few times that I actually remember us getting on each other’s nerves!  Thankfully, the storms finally blew through and we were able to extend our stay by a few days in order to enjoy the warm dry weather!

That rain though, is what refreshed the land and enabled all the beautiful wildlife, the trees, the plants and that gorgeous meadow to flourish.  Just like it is the “rain” of the Holy Spirit that encourages and enables us to live life in the fulness of what the Father desires (and has provided) for our lives!

So yea… it may be a bit dreary looking and cold outside (the thermometer on the deck is reading 40 degrees right now…) but what I choose to see is the refreshing of the Lord upon my life!  It is that very refreshing from the truth of His Word that is bringing me through this most difficult time in my life… and is that which can and will do the same for you!

So… what do YOU see when you look outside?  Cold, rain and dark skies or the refreshing of the Lord falling upon your life?

Have a wonderful weekend, and as you do, say along with me: “I love the rain, as I am expecting the refreshing of the Lord to fall upon me, today!”