A little glimpse from the scenery of my town, and how God works through the storm.
Today when the 5-day rain finally stopped, I found myself squinting at the light. Not just because the sun was shining staight down on my eyes, but because the light was bouncing back, reflected by the wet pavement below. I found myself hit by sunlight from all angles.
And then, as I was walking back from class, I saw this beautiful sight and couldn’t help but take a picture of it. Here it is:
A perfect row of imported palm trees, juxtaposed with the lively bushes of the lush green hills. The “A” sits atop the mountain and overlooks the city for which it stands. It has just rained and the world is new, the hue of the hills greener than ever. The air feels like a fresh start, full of possibilities, the ground beneath our feet washed clean by days of storms.
There are clouds in the sky but it’s bright out, especially where the sun streams through. It sheds its light not just down toward the ground, but back up toward itself as it reflects on the puddles below.
God’s light is like this too. He shines down from heaven, but casts no shadow. And He gives way to more light on everything He touches. He is reflected even in our puddles of rainwater. We are like this ground, beaten by storms but washed clean by His redeeming grace, and blessed enough to somehow bounce His light back up and around us with the surface of our little dirty puddles.
I think this is why God allows it to rain.
The storms of life are not always fun, not always scenes of children dancing in the rain or driving through gutters just for the fun of kicking up a splash. Sometimes they’re cold; sometimes the wind rocks your center of gravity around; sometimes you’re stuck inside waiting for the storm to stop. But even when He floods the earth, God promises that the rain won’t last for forever. The clouds will stop, and the sun will break through, and the earth will emerge awash, a polished creation. Those barren hills will turn green; the pavement, clean.
And we, that wet ground with our little puddles of rain, will remain, reflecting God’s glory back to Him. Those drops of water on the ground show for something. They show for the storm that just passed, and they show how God can use even a little bit of water to shine back toward Himself, reflective of his love.
So next time it rains, may you look up after the storm. And may you see how the Lord works through the weather.
“I lift my eyes up to the mountains. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord.” -Psalm 121:1-2 NIV.
And:
“God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.” -Psalm 46 1-2 NIV.
The More the Marianer 