I think we hate rain because we do not want to stop. We do not want to have to explain to our boss why our hair is wet, drive slower, or take more time to grab an umbrella on the way out the door. Rain is an inconvenience.
A very uncomfortable inconvenience
Or, as a basic like myself would say...
Rain is awkward.
Coming to Love the Awkward Rainfall
As I said, I hated the rain for the longest time. There was no leaving the house on a rainy day, and I was in a terrible mood regardless of what else happened on those rainy days.
Then I met my college best friend
And he made me stop
And we stood in the rain
I never quite understood why my friend liked the rain so much. He actively chose to go for runs in the rain and would become giddy at the first sight of a raindrop. I vividly remember the first time we had an extended conversation in our sophomore year, and how we ended up standing in the rain for a solid hour and a half, just talking about the most random things.
No one interrupted the conversation
No one else wanted to be standing in the rain
No one was going to stop
And no one was going to stop us.
Those catch up conversations are some of my favorite memories of my undergraduate years. Because in the rain, I just got to be silly and let my guard down. The colors of the world changed around us as we talked, and I finally had a chance to stop moving.
There were no requirements for me to meet.
I just had to stand in the rain with my friend.
I had to stop.
The Aftermath
When the rain comes, the world stops moving. And as that occurs, the world is able to grow beautiful again. The trees are strengthened and the flowers stand taller. Rainfall allows the Earth to take a breath, a nap if you will.
God's perfect design of the world requires everything to stop every so once in a while. And when we stop moving, there is something greater in the works. Sometimes it feels like an inconvenience, but truly it is of absolute necessity to allow the rain to fall and to wait it out.
I mean...think of Noah. God told him to get in a boat and wait out the longest storm ever. It killed everyone and everything.
But that was not the end for them:
"God remembered Noah and all the animals, wild and tame, that were with him in the ark. So God made a wind sweep over the earth, and the waters began to subside."
~Genesis 8:1
God remembers every human being and every part of His creation. There is no storm, whether it be a literal storm or a metaphorical storm, that God cannot deliver us from. He loves us, and He knows that we will make out because He is there.
Noah and his family and all of the animals he gathered populated the Earth again.
All of our brokenness can then fill our hearts.
The waters will subside
But we have to stop.
Perpetual Motion
At the beginning of this semester, I did not stop moving. Not because I was upset or had something to distract myself from. I just could not stop moving. Efficiency is one of my favorite things.
Importantly, I did not have my friend to stand in the rain with.
God did not will for that.
But He needed me to stop.
Last week, I was hit with the flu. I'm not very good at being sick, and that was arguably the worst time for me to be sick. I had studying to do, littles to find, and residents to bond with. It was not worth my time to stop moving. Still, I was sick, and I had to take care of myself.
I got sick because I didn't stop moving.
I used to spend my afternoons talking. It was never about anything extensively deep or anything, but those conversations made it possible for me to stop and breathe and process everything going on in my life. Without that, I did not take time to breath and take care of myself. And like a flower without water, I wilted away in the form of loneliness and exhaustion.
Worthy
Eventually I got healthy again, but I was still lonely. My friends all had problems and more important things going in their lives, and I did not want to stop them from moving. I did not want to make them sit with me for over an hour at a time, and I did not want to be a bother. So I listened to them, and I silently dragged myself along.
My cross was crushing me.
And I did not know where to go.
Who would listen to me talk about the stupid things? Who would care about my love of candy corn and my day to day activities?
Last night, I went to Sanctuary, a college praise and worship event that happens twice a month. All of the songs were praising God, and in that praise service (if that's what a protestant would call it...) I found my answer.
Worthy is the Lamb Who Was Slain
I never really understood why my Protestant friends would sing this phrase. Yes, of course God is "worthy." He's God. It made no sense to me.
Then I realized.
It's not about God being worthy of His own greatness.
He's worthy of everything we can give.
He's worthy of our lives.
God loves every little bit of us. He made our days and He made our hearts and He knows all of the parts of our lives. If there was anyone who ever deserved to hear about our days, it was Him. Yet we think that He only should hear grand praises and greatest sorrows. He is too great.
No.
"I am in love with you and all of these little things."
~One Direction
Assume God is One Direction here. It is the little things that matter so much.
God's Rain
When life grows difficult, we turn to God. Many would say that this is wrong, but honestly, I think it is the best place to start. Just as the rain stops the Earth, our own personal "storms" allow for us to stop our insane lives.
Just as I stood in the rain alone with my friend, God stands alone with us in the storm.
You do not have to do anything to be there with Him.
All He wants is to be there in the storm and listen to you.
And He loves everything about you.
So then, do not be afraid of this world. Do not think that you have to stand alone or that you have to deeply connect to every person around you. It is ok to not have a best friend, and it is ok to be sad sometimes. It is ok to have weird food obsessions and like to do silly things, such as stand in the rain.
No one else is going to stand in your storm.
No one is going to stop you.
But God will happily be there with you.
"Do Not Be Afraid
I am with you
I have called you each by name
Come and follow Me
I will lead you Home
I love you
and you are Mine"
~David Haas
