Rain, Rain GROW Away!

Monday morning after a ridiculously full weekend...Two birthday parties for a very active 4 year old, Mother's Day festivities, family gatherings, presents, church services, friends, graduation... SHEW! I'm tired! To top it off, Monday morning brought a grey sky and consistent rain with the forecast of all-day-showers. Bah humbug!

I fought the urge to stay in bed and braved the morning. Then I heard it, "Mom...it's raining outside!" E was up and with excitement I made my way to his room. I love to greet my little boy in the morning. I climbed in bed with him and we looked through the open blinds to a soggy grey day.

"Why's it raining?" a curious boy needed to know.

"The rain is how God waters the earth. He waters the flowers and the trees and the grass so everything grows."

"Aww (he said with a big sigh)...I'm sad because I wanted to play outside!"

"I know, bud, but the grey clouds outside don't reflect how my heart feels inside. I love you SO BIG and I am SO HAPPY!"

This brought a smile to his face (although I know I'd still get asked a dozen  more times when it will stop raining so he can go outside to play).

Fast forward 20 minutes and we're on our way out. I opened his car door and asked him to climb inside as I made a few trips back and forth from the house to the car loading things up for the day. When I was finally ready to go, he was not in his seat. Instead I found him outside the garage standing in the rain.

"E! What are you doing? It's raining!"

"I'm just looking for worms because they come out when it rains." He was right but we were in a hurry and he was not obeying.

"Let's go...you're getting wet!" I said as I scooped him up.

"It's okay mom, the rain helps me grow!"

And suddenly the lesson. The rain is unavoidable. Of course we'd much rather wake up to the brightness of the sun shining through the windows, but the rain is necessary for growth. And so I welcome the rain clouds, because despite the uncontrolledness this kind of damp day brings to my hair, it also brings growth.

He makes all things beautiful in His time (Ecclesiastes 3:11) and that means even through rainy seasons, droughts, storms, and beautiful days of sunshine, He is cultivating our hearts to produce growth. I wasn't singing "Rain, rain go away..." Instead, E & I skipped down the driveway singing a new tune: "Rain, rain, GROW away!"