Good morning, DearHeart.

I love the rain. I remember my Pop Coon sitting at his kitchen table, drinking coffee, watching the rain out the window and saying out loud, “let it rain”. That’s one of my dad’s favorite sayings on mornings like this, too. His voice sounds exactly the same as Pop’s. It’s funny how little sounds or phrases can take you right back to a warm place in childhood memories. A place of comfort. A place we hope to create for our own chickees. A warm and safe place. A place that God created for His own.

Life can bring hard times which bring strong winds and rains that seem to be on a mission to take us under.

But, those driving rains only drive us to Him. We fall before the One who brings healing and restoration. Roots go down more deeply causing us to sway but stand firm, as He assures us that we are in His Presence.

These winter rains serve to grow a desire in us to know Him with an earnestness so we pursue Him, relentlessly.

Relentlessly.

We press on, striving to obtain more of Him in the midst of the harsh season. In spite of it even.

And then come the spring rains …

Gentle.

Refreshing.

Soft.

And those seeds He has been planting in our lives all along, begin to break ground. They grow and blossom and bear fruit.

We begin to see His hand at work in our lives, weaving details with a precision and beauty, which was unseen to us. The winter rains prove to have had a purpose all along.

The seed has become swelled and begins to burst into maturity.

In the trials, in the torn places, in this very day, God has a plan.

“Come, let us return to the Lord; for He has torn us, that He may heal us; He has struck us down, and He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live before Him. Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; His going out is sure as the dawn; He will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.” Hosea 6:1-3 ESV

Wake up.

God has a plan.

Go.