Today I was thinking about Jesse and a favorite saying of his. For those of you who don’t know, Jesse is my little brother who went to be with the Lord a few years ago. As I thought of him, I thought of a story I read about a year ago. Let me share this story with you.
A little girl had been shopping with her Mom in Wal-Mart. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of innocence.
It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the spout. We all stood there, under the awning, just inside the door of the Wal-Mart.
We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day.
I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I got lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child came pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day.
Her little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in, ‘Mom let’s run through the rain,’She said.
‘What?’ Mom asked.
‘Let’s run through the rain!’ She repeated.
‘No, honey. We’ll wait until it slows down a bit,’ Mom replied.
This young child waited a minute and repeated: ‘Mom, let’s run through the rain…’
‘We’ll get soaked if we do,’ Mom said.
‘No, we won’t, Mom. That’s not what you said this morning,’ the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom’s arm.
‘This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?’
‘Don’t you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, ‘ If God can get us through this, He can get us through anything!’
The entire crowd stopped dead silent… I swear you couldn’t hear anything but the rain… We all stood silently. No one left. Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say.
Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child’s life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith.
“You are absolutely right. Let’s run through the rain. If GOD lets us get wet, well maybe we just need washing,” Mom said.
Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles. They got soaked.
They were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars. And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing.
Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one can ever take away your precious memories…So, don’t forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories every day.
I HOPE YOU STILL TAKE THE TIME TO RUN THRU THE RAIN. John Edward
This story says so much. If God can bring us through it…and he can, not only can He, but He will. He wants us to make it through even more than we do. He desires to bring us through and out into an abundant place. This story touched me and reminded me that God brought me through the last tough season and I am still standing AND I am still trusting God. If He did that, and He did, He will bring me through the challenges of this season and any other season I walk through.
I have been thinking about Jesse a lot this week. Jesse went to be with the Lord at the young age of 30 – I miss him. Some days my heart aches. Lately, I have been thinking about his favorite saying.
His favorite saying was ‘life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.’ When my life gets heard, I remember this saying Jesse loved and I remember to dance in the rain, just as the mom and little girl in the story did.
I have learned a few things in the stormy seasons of my life. I learned to continue to dance, even though the storms raged around me. I learned to worship God, even and especially when everyone around me thought for sure God had forsaken me.
God is looking for hearts just like that. Hearts that will dance through the storms. Hearts that will worship and give Him praise, even through tears and pain. Hearts that will continue to trust Him, regardless of what they see, experience or walk through. Hearts that choose to trust in His word and His unfailing faithfulness. Hearts that will believe He is exactly who He says He is. Hearts that are firmly established in Him.
Today, whatever is happening in your life, I pray you can remember that we serve a faithful God. One who brings us through storms and empowers us to dance right in the middle of them. Trust Him with this one.
