Maybe We Need the Rain

The weather is a common topic of conversation during those awkward moments of silence between strangers in the locker room or on the elevator.  "Beautiful day, huh?"  "Hot enough for you?"  "Stay safe now, OK?"  These are common utterances, for which the socially acceptable response is supposed to be something like "yup" or "tell me about it" or "same."

Lately, though, if someone complains about the rain, I've decided to buck convention and try something else: "maybe we needed it."  Don't take me to be a lover of rain.  I don't like splashing around in rain coat and galoshes, although I know the rain is good news for some who do.  Nor am I thinking about crops or water quality, although it is on account of those things that my statement has a whiff of truth to it.




More so it is a reminder to me that there are seasons, out of our control but well within that of our Maker, where the weather will not be in our favor.  And, instead of complaining about it or wishing it away, I want my attitude to be: "Maybe this is exactly what I need."  It is a moment to connect me to my God, who works all things - including literal and metaphorical bad weather - for my good and His glory.

On our path to eternity, we are so easily thrown off course, so unwilling and unable to see how a short-term loss can be used to produce long-term gain.  The Bible is clear that our lives are not always a bed of roses.  I firmly believe that it is through many tribulations that we will enter the Kingdom of God, as is written in the book of Acts.  Most of us are so well off and otherwise privileged that we can sail through life in relative comfort and ease.  This is true of me too, probably more than most.  And yet I have had and do have tribulation in my life, some small and some big, some insignificant and some deeply soul-shaking.

My growth as a person is not attributed to the sunny days but to the rain and storms and worse.  Yet I so easily forget this.  So when someone decides to make small talk with me and complain about the weather, I will now take the opportunity to remind myself in my response, "maybe we need the rain."