The storm is coming and plants need water.

I remember several years ago when I was in college, my roommate asked me what my favorite part of nature was. I think I said flowers. There's so many different kinds, each with an array of colors, blooms, smells, leaves, etc. God made each of them and He made them each unique. What my roommate said in regards to her favorite part of nature has always stuck with me and it's something that God's been showing me and reminding me over the last few weeks, she told me her favorite part of nature was the rain because it's  always an indicator of new life.

The more I've thought about it the last few weeks, the more I've realized just how true this is. Rain always always always brings new life. It doesn't matter  how bad the storm is, there is always new vegetation as a result of the rain. It may take some time to see that growth and that new life, but it's always there. Whether in a single blade of grass in a field or abundant growth of vegetation in a garden, there is always growth following the rain. The funny thing is, without rain, without water, the plants can't grow. 

I've been reminded of how true this is in our own lives. The certainty of trials and storms in life is real. The hope through those trials is that new life, new growth is always coming. I am so convinced that nothing comes to us without going through the Father first. He allows things to happen in our lives that at times, seem unfair, harsh, and "not good", but these things are NEVER out of His control.  Romans 8:28 says that "We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

There have most certainly been times in my life where I was unable to see the good or the purpose in the trial or the situation. There have been times when I wanted nothing more than to know why. Why would a loving God allow things to happen? Why would a loving God allow things to work out the way that they do? Why would a loving God not give me this seemingly "good thing?" What I've learned is that while a very loving God allows things to happen, they are never out of His control and He is working ALL THINGS to His glory. My human mind often longs  to know the earthly why that it was never meant to know. It's in those times when faith and trust in God's plans is my only option that I begin to see the growth that He is doing. I begin to understand the necessity of the rain to bring growth even when it's not comfortable and even when it's not easy. 

 This morning in Sunday school, we discussed Hebrews 6:7-8 which says, "For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned." Much like storms in nature, storms in life can leave a trail of hurt and destruction. And much like those storms in nature, we have a choice whether to rebuild in those places or move on. Whatever the circumstances of the storms in my life, I always have a choice. I have a choice whether to allow God to use those storms to grow my faith and trust in Him, to do His work, and produce new healthy vegetation in my life or I have a choice to allow the thorns and thistles of anger, hate, bitterness, and resentment to grow where love and trust once was planted. 

If we believe what God's word says in Romans 8:28 then we know that even in the midst of the trials, He is working. We know that even in the soaking rain, He is preparing the ground with nourishment and new life for the growth that He is planning. How often though do we allow the driving rain to blind us to the things that He is doing? I think all too often we allow the thorns and the thistles to grow simply because of a lack of faith in the Father's plan and an unawareness of His presence in those situations. Unfortunately what happens when I allow the thorns and the thistles to grow in my life after a storm, is that they begin to take over. Not just in the one area but in the whole. If they aren't stopped, if they aren't pruned, their roots begin to run deep and they begin to take over the life that was once there.

What I've realized is that when I make the choice to allow anger, resentment, and bitterness to grow after the rain, God often has to come in a prune those things out of my life. Because of my choice to allow things that aren't of God to grow  I often face the consequences that come from that pruning. Thankfully, God loves me enough that He's willing to prune those things from my life and if I choose to allow Him to work, those things do not have to overtake me.

When I think of the uprooting nature of storms, I often think of the Moore tornado in 2013 that left a very obvious path of destruction through the town. When I went through Moore a month after the tornado my mind could not fully grasp the power of a storm that could leave so much destruction in it's wake. For three years I had driven through that area almost every day on my way to class and it was completely different. The path of the tornado completely changed the landscape. Where houses once stood, there were empty concrete slabs. Where trees once grew, there were broken branches. Where there were jobs and infrastructure, there broken dreams and businesses gone all because of the storm.

I went through Moore again about a month ago and what I saw this time, was new life. Houses begin built, businesses reopening, people living their lives. You see, they too had a choice. They could have very easily allowed the storm to take all those things away from them. They could have allowed that path to remain as a scar on the town so that everyone passing through would see right where the storm ripped it apart. But what I saw was new life. I saw a choice to rebuild. While the rain was soaking and left destruction in it's wake, it did not choke out the new growth or the life that was there.

There are few things I am certain of in this life, but I am certain of this- there will always be storms. There will also always be new growth following the rain. The presence of a storm does not dictate my response to the rain any more than a trial should dictate my response to the Father. Ultimately I know that rain is rain and it only makes me more aware of my need for an umbrella. In the same way, I know that God is God and the storms of life only make me more aware of my need for Him and the growth that only he can cause following the rain.  No matter how soaking and how destructive the rain may seem, God can and will always use it for His good and for His glory. We each have a choice. We each choose our response to the growth following the storm. We choose whether to allow healthy vegetation and new life to grow or we choose to allow thorns and thistles to remain as a scar, symbolizing the path of destruction in our lives. The rain is coming, but let it be an indicator of the abundant life God has for you today. Choose life, even in the storm.