A Break in the Weather

I congratulated myself on arriving at my sister’s house ahead of the brewing thunderstorm. I was going out to dinner with her and my niece and nephew.

By the time we all headed to the garage the rain was coming down in a deluge. My sister said she’d just gotten her car washed and we’d take my brother-in-law’s car instead. 

Which was parked at the curb. 

So she said she’d pull up to the garage for us. 

My nephew motioned my sister to come closer but I wondered how she could see him through the rain. I imagined her telling my brother-in-law that she crashed his BMW into the garage because she didn’t want her car to get wet. 

{Dear sister, do you know it rains every afternoon in the summer in Florida? Your car will probably get wet tomorrow.} 

Finally my nephew made a run for it but my niece started to cry since there was now thunder and lightning. My sister got back out in the rain to run my niece to the car. I was soaked too as we all looked at each other.

“Well,” my sister said, backing out of the driveway as the rain poured down on the windshield. “I just can never figure out how to keep the windshield wipers going in this car. They seem to be on a permanent delay.”

Not being able to see our way through a storm sounded a little scary to me. 

But a little familiar too. 

Maybe like me, you’ve found yourself stuck in a stormy season of life, feeling delayed, confused and unable to see what’s ahead. Maybe you’re wrestling with a decision to make or a job to take. Maybe your kids are exhausting your energy or your health is challenging. 

Maybe you’re just hoping for a little break in the rain. 

God knows that we can’t travel the next part of our journey without a stop for rest and rejuvenation. 

In the Bible, even Elijah, Moses and the disciples needed a break to continue carrying out God’s purposes. An angel baked Elijah a loaf of bread, Moses discovered an oasis of 70 palm trees in the desert, and the disciples set sail in their boat in the opposite direction of the crowds.

I’d just settle for a sunny spot to take off my muddy galoshes and fold up my dripping umbrella to recoup my stamina for the next stage of my journey.

You too?

So when I least expected it, the rain let up and I saw the faint rosy rays of hope hiding behind the clouds. 

This heartening haven is where God reminded me that he sees me and hears my prayers. 

To the outsider, it may not seem worthy of such buoyancy, but my eyes view my story from the angle of the one who is living it.

Sometimes God takes the very ordinary and gift-wraps it for my heart’s understanding so there’s no mistaking that he tied the ribbon and delivered it just for me.

And that’s why I’m not sure I want this stormy season {that has lasted much longer than I thought} to end. 

Confusion, uncertainty and doubt are just the agents that usher me into his presence. 

Where he takes the questions I’m asking for what seems the thousandth time, and answers in a way that leaves me breathless, wanting more of him. 

I ask myself how could this make sense? But with instruction that seems strange and counterintuitive, I follow, and the skies lighten. 

The storms have cleared the way for this quiet space to hear his whisper. Where he cheers the heart and leads the rest of the way.

He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven. 

 -Ps. 107:29-30

As my sister drove our bedraggled and still damp selves home after dinner, there was a spectacular sunset painted in the sky.

She pulled my brother-in-law’s car safely back into the driveway and my niece Devon pointed our gazes skyward, “There’s a rainbow in the sky and it ends in our backyard.”

During our stormy seasons, may we wait hopefully for a break in the weather and watch expectantly for the promise of the rainbow.

For surely after the rain, the vision of what God has purposed for us will become clear. 

I'm keeping my eye on the skies. 

How about you?

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