Rain Makes Me Happy!

You heavens above, rain down my righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness flourish with it; I, the Lord, have created it.

Isaiah 45:8

I write this as I listen to the sound of rain hitting my porch roof.  Rain has become one of my favorite things in Santa Cruz.  It is hot here!  I start pouring sweat when I walk out the door for my walk to school.  The sun is not fully up, yet I am sweating.  I long for rain that usually comes with a bit of cool air behind it.  For a few hours, I am briefly relieved from the heat that is Santa Cruz.   

My Birthday 2012

Before I was blessed with the ability to live in Bolivia, I saw rain as a nuisance.  Usually in Georgia and Arkansas there was a threat of tornado with the rain. It caused traffic accidents.  I got wet.  My hair looked horrible.  It canceled baseball games, and made me want to stay home.  I would even sing the song "Rain, rain, go away. Come again some other day."  Even now I still am reminded of the negative effects that rain can have on those around me.  In Santa Cruz, when the down pours of rain come flooding occurs, traffic stops because cars can't drive on the poorly, irrigated dirt roads.   The poor are forced from their homes in the canals, and their ways of making money are halted as they attempt to stay dry.  Businesses even close because of the rain. Last year on my birthday, they canceled school because of the flooding.  The sudden change in weather also causes headaches with some and the flaring up of allergies with others (both of these describe me at times), and even here rain still does nothing for my hair.

My Birthday 2012

A downpour a few days ago...I didn't take this picture.

Yet I still pray for the rain to come.  I have been blessed to see the life-giving quality that rain has for me as well as others.  I get to wear my rain boots and splash in huge puddles.  I get to enjoy the sound of it hitting my umbrella, the roof, and windows.  I enjoy the cool aftermath.  I also enjoy the fresh fruits and vegetables that grow bountifully because of the rain.  This sun-scorched land can cause my weariness, but the Lord showers me with refreshment when the rains come.
  

Horse jumping competition with friends

Jose' jumping in the rain.

Rain is also another sign of God's love for me.  He knows me.  He knows what I need.  He understands my need for something as small as a cool moment, to feel the wind on my skin and the rain falling on my umbrella.  He understands that waking me up with a thunderstorm is sometimes the only way he can get my stubborn attention and remind me of his love.  He brings his rain to refresh, to heal, to love, to bless, and to remind me that I am not alone.  

Today after school

Here are some verses I found about rain and showers from the Lord:

When you, God, went out before your people,

    when you marched through the wilderness,

8 

the earth shook, the heavens poured down rain,

    before God, the One of Sinai,

    before God, the God of Israel.

9 

You gave abundant showers, O God;

    you refreshed your weary inheritance.

10 

Your people settled in it,

    and from your bounty, God, you provided for the poor.

Psalm 68:1-7

He draws up the drops of water,

    which distill as rain to the streams;

28 

the clouds pour down their moisture

    and abundant showers fall on mankind.

29 

Who can understand how he spreads out the clouds,

    how he thunders from his pavilion?

30 

See how he scatters his lightning about him,

    bathing the depths of the sea.

31 

This is the way he governs the nations

    and provides food in abundance.

32 

He fills his hands with lightning

    and commands it to strike its mark.

33 

His thunder announces the coming storm;

    even the cattle make known its approach.

Job 36:27-33

RAINBOW!!

I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of savage beasts so that they may live in the wilderness and sleep in the forests in safety.  I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing. The trees will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them.  They will no longer be plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will make them afraid.

Ezekiel 34:25-28

Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies themselves send down showers? No, it is you, Lord our God. Therefore our hope is in you, for you are the one who does all this.

Jeremiah 14:22

Listen, you heavens, and I will speak;

hear, you earth, the words of my mouth.
Let my teaching fall like rain
 and my words descend like dew,
like showers on new grass,
like abundant rain on tender plants.
I will proclaim the name of the Lord.
Oh, praise the greatness of our God!
He is the Rock, his works are perfect,
and all his ways are just.
A faithful God who does no wrong,
upright and just is he.
Deuteronomy 32:1-4

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.  But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Matthew 7:24-27

Our God creates the rain!  He made it! He allows it to refresh and bless the earth and its people. He rains down blessings of his teaching and his salvation.  He uses it to test and to destroy.  He brings the rain.  He rains down His Holy Spirit and his loving-kindness!  He uses the rain to wash away the impurities in us and make us whole.  Bring your rain, Lord!

Selfie in the rain with bad hair!