Rain and Shine

A year ago this month, I wrote the following:

Make the rain stop. 

When I said I would praise you through the storm, I knew it would be difficult.  But I didn't think it would literally mean the water would be shooting into my house— again!  This is the second time in just about a month that I have found myself stooping over with a shop-vac sucking up gallons and gallons of water.  First it was a clogged drain outside, and now my water heater has sprung a leak.

This all seems to be a metaphor for the rest of my life.  I feel as if I am bailing bucket after bucket of water out of my lifeboat, just to see the water rise around me again.  At times, the water has risen so high that I literally couldn't breathe.  I truly had the sensation that I was drowning. 
 
Right now I would like to be writing a nice article about Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee, but instead I feel as though God is speaking the same words he spoke to Job.  God seems to be saying "Who are you to question my plans for you?  What do you know about anything?  I am the all-knowing, all-powerful one.  Trust me, I got this."  I'd prefer Him to just say "don't be afraid" and make it all better.  God did make Job prosperous again—twice as much!  But, he still lost his family.  He still went through a storm that must have brought tears to his eyes the rest of his life.  Yes, God has great plans for me, but I may always carry with me some amount of sadness because of this storm. 

I, like Job, may be able to one day look back on this time and see the Lord's providence in all this pain.  I am confident this will happen.  But, it doesn't make this time any less real. 

I’m in sunny Jacksonville, FL with my family, and this vacation weekend has reminded me that God did lead me through last year’s storm.  The rain eventually stopped.