The Sky Gave Rain and the Land Produced Its Fruit

 

These verses have meant so much to me over the past several months that I hardly know how to address them in a logical way that makes sense. I am going to try to make several points here that may not seem connected, so I apologize if this post seems a little scattered.

Since the beginning of spring, probably since we created our nature path in March, I have thought a lot about the seasons, both physical and spiritual. In a physical sense, I have thought a lot about the spring rains. One thing that I have thought about has been the connection between rain and the change in seasons. For some reason, we went through a physically dry season through the late spring/early summer, from May through mid-July, and the hotter it became, the more I began wishing for rain. As much as I hate mowing grass, I will admit that I really hate the dry, brown dirt even more. I hadn't really thought much about it before, but I have begun to see that the rain is a blessing from God. Without the rain, nothing can grow.

In a spiritual sense, I have certainly been through a dry season of waiting and development, and even though I am still in that season, I feel more certain today than ever that the seasons are beginning to change. Again, I have started to see that the rain in my life is a blessing from God. Without those trials, I cannot grow.

A while back, I read a very interesting statement about this post's verses that has really meant a lot to me. I don't know the exact phrasing of the statement, but I will try to paraphrase. Elijah asked God to hold back the rain, so it didn't rain for three and a half years, and as soon as Elijah prayed for it to rain again, the crops began to produce fruit again. The statement I read pointed out that, in order for the crops to grow immediately, the seeds had to have already been planted in the ground. In other words, God's rain in our lives produces fruit from the seeds were planted long ago.

As a parent, I pray that I have been diligent in planting seeds in the lives of my family so that my children will grow and produce fruit in times of trial. The truth is that I won't know if there is any fruit until my family faces trials, but I recently had the most beautiful glimpse of potential fruit. Rayne loves music of ALL kinds, and I love when he shares the music that he loves with us. Often, we will let Rayne control the music while we are driving, and we never know what kind of music we may hear. The other day, Rayne decided to share his 32 favorite songs with us on a long drive. (Actually, he created a bracket for us to vote among his favorites, but that is another story.) I had already heard most of the songs that he shared that day, then one song I had never heard before brought tears to my eyes: "Rain" by the Sunday Service Choir. I cannot even begin to explain what that song meant to me, especially at this point in our lives, but I can say that song gave me so much hope that the seeds Angie and I have planted have taken root. (I highly recommend looking up the song and listening to it for yourself.)

Heavenly Father, I don't have anything more to say than thank you for the rain in our lives. In the fruitful name of Jesus I pray, Amen.