The Rain Came Down And The Floods Came Up

Do you remember that song?  We used to sing it with our kids when they were little because it taught them about the house on the rock standing firm amidst the storm...and it was a fun song!


Sidenote: We don't sing anymore at bedtime.  That's a sad thing to me.  So now I sing to Joshie when I feed him his bottle and, in fact, he jiggles his whole body if I DON'T sing the minute we sit on the bed.  Now, that makes this gramma happy!

We've had more rain in the last three months than some years put together, I think!  There is always the possibility that one could begin to complain...no sunshine in a town that usually has over two hundred twenty days of the yellow orb...we've had weeks with overcast, dreary weather. Moving  from a city that maybe saw 157 days of sunshine, I embraced the extra sixty- seven days!  So, with more clouds and rain here, I must remind myself that in August, I'll be dancing when the skies darken and thick clouds bring clapping thunder.

Besides, who cares what the weather is outside when I'm about to experience the sunshine of my life when I have all seven of my grandchildren under my roof and my daughter is sitting across the table from me chatting about THM or doing my hair?

The three grandchildren from around the corner are mine all week because this is Spring Break.  They came this morning, complete with questions, jokes, a book about walruses that included riddles and lots of laughter.  I'm  sure Joshie is delighted to have his siblings near him to play with, sit next to on the floor and do whatever he can to get them to laugh at his antics.

Even as I sit here writing, Peter and Rachael and their tribe are on their way!  They've driven straight through and in the last text, they were getting off an exit in Ft. Worth because of an accident!  God has provided for them by answering my prayers for good weather until Arkansas. They finished lunch earlier and were running around in the rain! I'm sure the girls are tickled to be running around without coats and sixty degree temps!

I am so thankful that Daddy cares about the little things.  Like the kitty cat that Trinity loves that had been gone for days and right BEFORE they left, he showed up!  How sweet that Daddy settled her heart that he was home!  Then, last night, Preston would not stop crying and Rachael asked for prayer.  Right after I sent a return text and prayed PEACE, he fell asleep!  Nothing short of a miracle for a boy that does not sit still very long...he's getting a lot of practice this trip.

In light of all the rain, yesterday I heard a challenging and encouraging  message from my Pastor called, "That'll Preach" and the hymn, "It Is Well".  It was about Horatio Spafford, a man in the midst of the storms of his life and I am reminded me to be thankful despite the hard situations in my life; thankful for the little things like rain that makes trees bud and living things green, the big things like my daughter and her family driving over sixteen hundred miles to see us.
Even thankful in the midst of the difficult things in between, such as needing to have the floor redone in the family room because the concrete has caved in from the rain because there are no gutters on the back of the house (not yet!) and we've had such an enormous amount of rain~  Or now, the pipe that the dishwasher and the washing machine drain into backing up and overflowing and my Love working so many hours that when his head hits the pillow, he's asleep in less than a minute! Or perhaps twin boys that I feel alone in parenting because of this season of Jef's work and at times, all I see is where I'm messing up and I just want to quit...BUT I WILL NOT!

Despite the challenges we face, we are NEVER alone.

Ever.  He walks with us through the storms. Just earlier today, I reminded myself of that truth.

 Matthew 7:24-26 makes it very clear that we will have storms:

Jesus stated, "Whoever hears My words and acts on them is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.  Though the rain comes in torrents and the flood waters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won't collapse because it's built on bedrock.  But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn't obey is foolish,  like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash."  

We have no control of the weather, but we can put on a raincoat and carry an umbrella.

When the rains come down, the floods may go up.

Determine to be thankful in the midst of the storms!