Finding Sunshine in the Rain

It rained and rained and rained some more; it did not let up. Water was everywhere, as the streets were flooding and rivers were breaching their natural boundaries. Granted, God had promised Noah that He would never flood the entire earth again, but it sure was wet all around us. Of course, we were on our motorcycle trying to travel to the beautiful Outer Banks to meet our friends. Even though we were only about an hour away from our destination, enough was enough. We had to stop; we pulled in, parked under the roof of the entrance, and stood still, dripping for several minutes. It had been a long day. I had preached that Sunday morning, and then we left, hoping to move beyond the rain, but we just kept experiencing more and more of that wet, cold, uncomfortable rain.

Rain falls on the just and the unjust, according to Matthew 5:45: "...He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good; He sends rain on those who do right and those who don't." The same is true of His compassion and love. God is not only love, but He loves all of His creation. Remember the story of the little boy with the five loaves of bread and two fish in Matthew 14? At no time did He check the credentials, nor did He ask if any of the 5,000 men or others were nice people or fit any man-made requirements; He simply saw their need for food and shared what He had.

We all have rainy days in our lives from time to time. There are days when we may even feel as though we are going to be swallowed up by the waters of life. In those moments, we might need to take a breath, reflect on how Jesus has helped us through rainy days in the past, and look around to see if there are others nearby who could use a hug, an umbrella, or just a kind word. Once we stop fixating on the rain and the miserable day we are having—and focus on someone else—it is amazing how our perspective can change. Suddenly, it is not such a bad day after all. Sometimes, we just need to remember the song from the musical Annie titled "Tomorrow," because the sun will come out tomorrow—and maybe even a little today.