“Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall”
― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

We, along with the many other states, have been experiencing some extremely dry weather. The lush green of spring has gone dormant as the lack of moisture leads to the beginning of a drought in some areas. Some may say this is another means of God trying to get our attention and return to Him – casting off the ways of the sinful world and renewing our faith in His will. I don’t think God works that way. Or are the days of the ten plagues returning with a vengance?  This pattern will soon be broken and the rain will fall to nourish the fields of grain and corn. They will reach their stems to the heavens and praise God for the refreshment. They will bury their roots deeply into the ground and their fruit will come forth and replenish the earth. In the meantime, we can thank God for keeping us free of deadly winds, damaging storms and flooding the streets on which we live.

We all have a time in our lives when the storms of every day living engulf us and cause us to fall into a deep state of depression.  I’m not talking about the weather here. There are days when we coast along through life easily.  Other times we’re overcome by difficulty, but as Longfellow so aptly said, “into each life some rain must fall.” Can you imagine life without the nourishment of rain?  If we didn’t have it, we’d soon shrivel up and die. When the storms seem like they’ll never end – when one thing after another continues to pound heavily on us – when we become drenched with the weight of it – it’s hard to be positive.  We fall deeper and deeper into the pit of self-pity and anxiety. When we remember that God has His hand on the sun, which continues to shine behind the clouds, we have something to hope for.  He controls every aspect of the weather. His tears over our condition have washed us and made us clean for ever. Don’t let the tempests of the world overtake your thinking. The day is coming soon when there will be no more droughts or floods – when we will live triumphantly in a perfect paradise where ever day is blissful. The storms will come and go, but they also serve a purpose. Until the work is fully completed, kick off your shoes and dance confidentally knowing you are ready for the ride.