Thankful for the Rain

Right now, it is raining. California has been in a drought for a long time, and it may still be in a drought for all I know, but right now, it is raining, and it's been raining quite well for some time now. And I'm thankful for that. It's not always the most pleasant weather to travel in, especially since I don't have a car, but we really need the rain, and I'm glad we're getting it.

I'm also, to a much lesser extent, grateful for the storms of life. Before we were born, we lived with God in heaven. There was no darkness, no hardship, no "rain." We were in a drought, and without a good drizzle, nothing would be able to grow.

Now, here we are, on Earth, under the clouds. Now, there's plenty of darkness and hardship, far more than we feel like we need, but just as a few heavy storms aren't even on their own to reverse years of Californian drought, a few decades of hardship aren't enough to counter pre-mortal eternities of ease. It takes sustained rainfall to refill reservoirs, and it takes a lifetime of difficulty to grant us eternal benefits.

So, God carefully controls the amount of "rainfall" we get. He never gives us enough to completely flood us (as I hope He won't with California), but He also makes sure we never have so little that we experience another drought. We need sustained periods of manageable hardship, and that's exactly what God usually gives us.

And there are many benefits to both kinds rain, both literal and figurative. The rain helps things to grow; in fact, growth wouldn't be possible without it. As the literal rain fills reservoirs, the figurative rain gives us experiences we can draw upon when we need wisdom. And both rains give us reasons to be grateful for the blessings we have, which is reason enough to be thankful for them.

I am grateful for the rain, both the literal and figurative storms of life. It's sometimes hard to be grateful for them, but right now, being dry and warm under a sturdy shelter and being happy after a day that went well, I am grateful that we occasionally have to experience some rain.