Rain of Joy in the Garden

It’s pouring down rain, but there is no thunder. I have been on the porch drinking a stout tea I call Scottish Sunshine (because I top it off with OJ). It has been a morning of writing, which is a favorite pastime, and praying. I have probably prayed for some of you; I am sure. My wife came out onto the porch with our five-year-old grandson. He wanted to play in the rain. There is no thunder, so why not let him get wet?

We took a rainy day and turned into a day of promise. Because after the rain will come sunshine. But for now, we are going to find joy in the rain. Sometimes it rains on our parade. Some days are just like that. God spoke to me today; it was through the Psalms. Maybe he’s speaking to you, let’s read it:

We took a rainy day and turned into a day of promise. Because after the rain will come sunshine. But for now, we are going to find joy in the rain. Sometimes it rains on our parade. Some days are just like that. God spoke to me today, it was through the Psalms. Maybe he’s speaking to you, let’s read it:

“This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” ~~ Psalm 118:24

Even the rainy days are days the Lord has made. I rejoice in those days. Sometimes it’s easier than others, sometimes it’s very hard. I get that; I have experienced it too. I don’t have all the answers. But I know this: Most of the time going through the rain is a matter of attitude and my time spent with God. I listen for his voice and search for his presence. I always set out to rejoice, and to be glad in the rainy day! I don’t even always fully end up there, but I try. The downpour is easier than if I were alone.

My wife came out on the porch with my grandson, and my first inclination upon the announcement that he was going outside, was, “wait, he’s gonna get soaked—and dirty—and well, he’s gonna…….”, and I ran out of stuff to say, so I figured, you guessed it, I was going to join him in the rain! We’ll make good memories.

Do you think God joins us in our rainy days or do you think he stands by, in a safe dry place, watching us in the downpour?

I know one thing, as a grandpa that loves his children and grandchildren, I want to be in the rain with them. I think God is the same way with us. Maybe he is just waiting on us to ask, or maybe he is with us and we aren’t really paying attention. But I know one thing, he WANTS to be with us in the rain.

“Grandpa, let’s go outside!” my grandson chuckled. “Okay buddy, where we goin’? I’m with ya!”, and with that, we ran out the door and the rain beat down on us hard, at first it was a downpour! But we were together, weathering the missile-like drops that fell on out of the sky. We ran down every trail and stopped when we found a big puddle. There is something about a puddle that needs to be jumped in—we jumped, and jumped, and jumped! About wore this old man out!

I have found that when I ask God to join me in the rain, he not only joins me, but there is a joy that transcends the downpour. It’s like a heavenly dance to me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all warm and comfy, in fact the rainstorm can even sting like the way those drops came down today! With a breeze or a little wind, it can be cold. But if I am running through the downpour with God and not running alone, something about the downpour changes. Part of it is that I am in conversation with God.

How does that conversation look? I search out scriptures about the rain, whatever kind of rain it is (drizzling, beating down or steady as she goes), and the voice of God, the voice of Jesus, is always there, I hear it through reading Scripture. I believe it is the Holy Spirit that joins me in the garden, and of course, the Holy Spirit is God and all are Jesus, all three in One. Cool how that is, isn’t it? I may not fully understand it, but it still is what it is.

“Grandpa, follow me!” and we ran off down this little path. “We’re getting wet grandpa”, my grandson laughed.

To myself, I was saying, “Hey, I’m along for the ride on this one!” I’m an older guy, but I kept up with him.

Then I turned around, grabbed the toy garden phone, and yelled, “Ring, ring, ring” and we both had this little conversation with water streaming down our faces everywhere. We were quite a sight to see!

We laughed, hung up, and he yelled, “Follow me Grandpa!” He found every puddle of water in the garden and had to jump in almost every blasted one!

We do that sometimes in life, don’t we? We stop to jump in puddles and get all messed up, dirty, wet and splashy. We just have to jump in the puddles.

Well, I joined my grandson, just like I think God joins us. And, if there was something about a puddle that was not good, I tried to let my grandson know.

Some puddles were dirtier than others, and some have slippery or jagged things just under the surface of the water. We came across only one of those today. But I was with him and helped him know which puddles he could jump in.

What many would see as a dreary day, we saw as joy, together, my grandson and I. God makes each day, rejoice and be glad in it. He will walk with you in your rain. Ask him, I know he will.

May the Lord of peace give you peace, in the downpours you face, and may you dance a heavenly dance with the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit, even in the puddles. May these times become times of promise rather than dreary days, knowing that the rain will subside and sunshine will fill your life. Make sure God is with you in the sunshine too. It’s a heavenly dance. The rain will come again. Find joy in the dance each time it comes.

“Grandpa, the sun’s comin’ out!” “Yeah buddy! Hey, follow me!”

And we took off in in the garden, another day, another adventure.