Besides the Starbucks at every corner, Space Needle, and
Pike's Place, Seattle is known for one thing:
rain.
Rain used to be one of my favorite things. I love the smell of it as it hits the dirt. I love the feel of it just pouring down. I love the sound of it hit tin rooftops.Paints a pretty picture, right...wrong.Wrong when you see far more of it than you were ever hoping to in a
lifetime.
In the last few days Mother Nature has been extremely emotional. It's sunny, it's raining, it's hailing, it's raining, it's sleeting, it's raining. It has been extremely frustrating to me after coming home from a week of sun, tanning, and uninterrupted bliss. I've tried to maintain a positive, normal-like, energetic mood as best as I can, however the weather seems to have gotten everyone in a cloudy mood. That was until...today.
I started the morning bright and early at 7:30 am. I immediately fell back asleep. Who gets up that early on purpose? I then woke up around 9:15 after my first class had already begun. I took a shower, blow-dried, and straightened my hair(extremely rare occurrence since I've been here), attempted at waking up my oh so cranky best friend for Chapel, and ultimately ended up going without her. Another friend had met me in my room to head up to Chapel. We looked outside at the extreme downpour we were about to walk into and I thought to myself, "Uhm, I just straightened my hair. I am NOT ruining this. No way." So, what's the normal thing to do? Take my backpack off and put it over my hair. Then it happened. Being me, I thought it was a clever idea to put my phone and camera in the very front pocket of my backpack so that when I lifted it above my head they both would come crashing down, shattering my smart phone. Clearly wasn't as smart as it appeared to be.A few minutes later we find out Chapel is canceled and I feel even more frustrated that this happened...and for what? Absolutely nothing. I continued to have the same, angry mentality throughout the rest of the day. In my Christian Thought class, which I'll admit I was half-listening to, I heard one thing extremely clear. "The Holy Spirit will make it apparent that it's there. When it reveals itself, you will know." As I walked down from class, still in the rain, I noticed something. I saw rain all around me, in front, behind, on both sides...yet I didnt feel
one
single
drop.
Now this might just sound weird to you, but I truly felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. What? You didn't feel rain on you so clearly it was the inclusion of the Holy Spirit. It was. As I kept walking I thought maybe I just wasn't feeling it because my clothes were shielding me from the dampness. Then I got inside and realized I was completely dry. I knew what I was feeling, however, feeling only accounts for so much. I sat down and dove a little bit deeper into what God's point was in all of this and then it came to me.
Life is full of rainstorms. The things of this world cloud our judgment and it's voice is a thundering roar. However, we have an umbrella of hope that will protect us through any storm. God protects us in our darkest, coldest, most frustrating times and continues to be that ray of sunshine we need to light our way back to comfort and warmth.
It was so easy for me this Spring Break when I was outside of the real world and everything seemed to be going right. I had so much on my mind leading up to that trip. I had a sense of guilt about almost everything. I had an extremely confusing boy situation that tore me up inside at the thought of hurting or being hurt and while I still don't know how they feel about it, I was at peace that clarification was being revealed. I had been praying for so long for a friendship that I value more than almost any other to be mended back together. The thought of being so disconnected from someone I value, respect, and admire so much and the possibility of them just not caring, killed me inside. Over the course of that trip and the few days since, it happened. That friendship has been restored and I pray that it continues to stay how it is, if not get better. So many good things had been happening while I was away and as soon as I got home I let the world enter back into my heart. I let it pour on me in all the things I was hoping to be rid of.
My prayer from here forward is that God will reign over any rain that may try to wash away the plans He has for me. Remembering that lightening never strikes twice and that everyday is a new one to electrify the Kingdom of God. That I may have to walk through a few puddles but under His grace I will never get caught in a flood. I'm so blessed to be alive. I pray I get the privilege to continue to wake up every morning and see the Son shining through my window.
Light of the world, forever reign.
