I sit beside my picture window, pen in hand, coffee cup steaming next to me. It is quiet here today. No one is home. The only sound is the whirring of the washing machine and the small peep of a hatching chick in my incubator.

As I look out the window, I wish to see bright skies and sunshine, but instead am met with gray haze and rain. My plans of attending to the chickens in the coop and procuring the fruits of the garden are put on hold. Instead I sit and watch the rain fall, wishing for sun

And it hits me as I assess the bleakness outside. Although I had certain plans for my day, I could not control the atmosphere. I could not control what occurred around me in order to make my plans a reality.

And such is life. We fret about our journey. We move, we work, we manipulate, and we procure. All in our best efforts to attain a status, or bring about the completion of plans we have made for ourselves.

We expect all our plans to come about with sunshine and much fruit. Yet, we failed to leave room for the rain. We failed to align ourselves with the One who controls the atmosphere around us. The true purveyor of all things that move and breathe. We plan our ways, but the Lord is the one who directs how the steps go (Proverbs 16:9).

Rain is often looked at negatively. It dampens our spirit. It upsets our plans, so we reason. It is the representation of all things that sadden us and fill us with grief.

I challenge you to view rain in a positive light. What would happen in the natural world without rain? The vegetation would die. The lakes and rivers would cease to water the land and animals. Life would slowly and surely end. All things green and lush would turn to brown, dry dust.

It is that way in our very life and heart as well. The rain keeps us grounded. It provides us the necessary water to drive our roots deep into Christ. It gives us lushness, growth, and in the end, beautiful, bountiful, sweet fruit.

Yes, rain can come at times we do not expect. It can last longer than we wish. It can delay our plans. Rest assures that the Master is not caught off guard. The rain will fall but in the end, our life will be a garden of perpetual beauty and fruitfulness when we allow the rain to drive us deep into the soil of His truth.