When I think of rainy places in the US, Seattle is at the top of my list. I was going to be a smarty pants and google it so I could tell you just how many rainy days Seattle has each year so I could prove my case. Know what I discovered? Seattle doesn’t even make the top ten list for rainiest cities in the US. Guess that goes to show how much I know. (Note: I did discover that although I was sadly incorrect about being one of the rainiest cities, Seattle is #4 for cloudiest cities. Perhaps that’s what confused me.)
Being the nerd that I am, one I got started on the trivia, guess what else I discovered. Five Texas cities are on the top ten list of most uncomfortable cities due to summer heat and humidity. Drum roll, please. #2-Corpus Christi, #3-San Antonio, #4-Dallas, #7-Waco, and #8-Houston. If you’re a nerd, too, you can check out the trivia here.
Of course, given the brutal temperatures we’ve endured for the record-setting 44 days of 100+ degree temperatures from June 30 through August 12, it is little surprise that I was doing the happy dance this morning. Not kidding. I awoke to the strangest sound about 7:30 am, so I lay still as a mouse in bed trying to decide if I should be scared or not. After all, I was home alone last night, and I had no clue what the noise was. I decided to be brave, so I raised my head ever so slowly off the pillow for a peek out the window. Heavenly day! It was raining! Nightgown clad, I headed for the backdoor with two pups in tow. Together we raced out onto the back patio and did our happy dance in the rain. I think they were just as excited as I was. Want to know something funny? We weren’t the only ones. My hummingbirds were zipping and zooming around, too. They were dancing with us! When I was near drenched from the rain, I dripped back into the house for my Diet Coke and went right back outside to sit on the outdoor couch and watch the rain. With a pup on either side of me, we sat in awe for over an hour. It was pure bliss.
And, it got me to thinking. Just like the plants smart Texans buy, we need to be drought tolerant. Our faith has to be strong enough for us to survive day after day after day when there is no rain…those times in our lives when it seems like God is not just absent, but flat ignoring us…those times when we’ve run out of ways to pray…those times when we’re ready to trade our painful circumstances for a temporary god instead of the one true God.
I’ve been there…recently. The difficulty of losing my mom, followed so quickly by the unexpected death of my precious Granny, shook me to the core. I found myself lost, alone, and hurting in a way I didn’t know was possible. And, it didn’t last just a week or a month. I continue to have those days when my heart aches so badly I think it might break…when tears run down my cheeks without explanation. But, here’s what I’m learning. The rain is so much sweeter after the drought. Are you with me? If I never experienced the drought, I would not come to depend on God’s mercy to pour down on me…to fill me up and satisfy my soul like only He can do. Instead, I’d keep looking to other people and material things to complete me, or I’d be so smug and think I have everything under control all by myself.
I love how Lamentations 3:22-26 (MSG) teaches us about drought tolerance:
“God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out, his merciful love couldn’t have dried up.
They’re created new every morning. How great your faithfulness!
I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over.) He’s all I’ve got left.
God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks.
It’s a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from God.”
Father God, it is a good thing to quietly hope for help from You. Keep me begging for rain so that when Your mercy pours down on me, I’ll always do the happy dance. I don’t want to ever take You for granted. I don’t want to ever think that anyone or anything can satisfy my soul like only You can. Keep me diligently seeking after You. With a grateful heart I pray, Amen.