Rain, Rain, Go Away . . .

Rain, rain, go away; come again some other day.

Like maybe next year! We've had our fill for now, haven't we? Here in Central Illinois, everything is flooded. Everywhere along the streets we see hoses and pipes running full stream as sump pumps run incessantly to fight the deluge invading our basements. For some, unfortunately, that has been a losing battle. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt to prove it. Well, maybe not the shirt part, but you get my gist . . .

Sometimes I have to wonder about the rain in our lives. Not the literal rain that falls from the sky, but that other type of rain, the flood of events that enter our lives which is sometimes a blessing, and other times, well, it's just too much of a good thing.

Take challenges, for instance. Challenges are opportunities, as the saying goes, which help us grow and improve. Like an athlete in training, without challenges we would never become stronger, never be faster, never be better at what we are trying to accomplish. If never tested, we never become more than we are. We become stagnate, stale, and frankly, risk losing the race. Rain in the form of challenges is good.

Until it becomes an overwhelming flood.

We've all been there, when so many "opportunities for growth and improvement" are thrown at us that feel like we are, indeed, drowning. We become so deeply immersed in the tidal wave of challenges that the waters of opportunity become a quagmire of anxiety, exhaustion, and failure.

That is when I call out, "Rain, rain, go away . . ."

What I really do is call out to God. I ask Him to either stop the flood or give me the strength to face each challenge in a way that is glorifying to Him and, secondly, strengthening for me. The story of Job is a good example of that. If ever a man was challenged, it was Job. His flood of opportunities were meant to prove his faithfulness to God, and he won the race. Do you think Job was stronger on the other side of his experience? I sure do.

So, when the floods come, I try to think of Job. I pray that in my life I never face such a cataclysmic flood as did he, but if I ever do, I ask God that He give me the strength to battle the currents long enough to finish the race, and be stronger on the other side.