Rain, Rain Go Away – Or Help Me Fight this Gloom Today

A guest writer today is my oldest daughter, Erin Simms. Homeschooled through highschool, and a graduate of Oklahoma City University, Erin is the mother of my two adorable grandsons, Kaden (4 yrs on Sat) and Will (2 yrs in Aug), and has been the wife of my son-in-love, Jon, for 9 yrs. She is a dance instructor at Victory School of Fine Arts. She writes....

Summer. Ahhh . . . close your eyes . . . what do you picture? Soakin’ up some rays, hangin’ at the pool, the kids running carefree through the yard – staying healthy (finally after fighting winter colds for so long), laying in the grass enjoying a family picnic, digging in the garden & watching those seedlings you so tenderly planted grow into massive fruit-bearing towers. This is what comes to life in my behind-the-lids contemplation. So why am I sitting inside staring at a computer with my blinds still down, ‘cause it’s still dark outside at 10:00 in the morning? Why is one of my good friends sick & another friend’s child in bed sick today? If I tried to have a picnic outside it wouldn’t be ants I would be worried about; the rain droplets would march by the millions from the sky and pester my outdoor cuisine. The only thing growing in the garden are sodden weeds – those tiny seedlings still limply trying to do their thing in this flooded earth with no sun to help them lift their heads. I mean, I’m used to getting wet in the summer – in the pool or from perspiration, but to get soaked by rain showers no matter the hour, day after day – this is not how summer is supposed to be.

So, I’m sitting here after having to change all my plans for the weekend because of this wretched rain. I’m in a funk – my spirit feeling like those dark clouds hanging over my realm. I’m just lying around & pulling my kids down with me, sinking even further & further into my swamp of despair. Through my vaporous depression I managed to pick up my Bible and started reading where I had left off in Jeremiah, which was chapter 10. In Jeremiah 10:13 it popped out at me with this, “When he speaks in the thunder, the heavens roar with rain. He causes the clouds to rise over the earth. He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from his storehouses.” I didn’t really know what to do with this, but He spoke to me, & He’s like, “ Erin , do you hear my voice in the thunder? Are you letting me be God or what? Your always-met expectations have made you believe you don’t even need me.” So after thanking God for the slap in the face I’ve decided to use this unexpected season for what He would have me do. Let us all take this cooped-up time and use it even though it’s not what we expected out of our summer. Let’s spend more time with our family, cuddling with the kids in the floor, reading books, making popsicles, setting up forts in our houses, even running in the rain. And especially, let’s give ourselves wholly to The Maker of the Storms. Do something crazy – dance around your house in unabashed worship, take time praying over your kids & each room in your house, sit outside in the rain & let it pour over you & just feel His presence. Are you letting Him speak to you in the thunder, or are you still saying Rain, Rain go Away? Whatever works for you, make “Sonshine” in your hearts even though outside it’s still raining . . . & raining . . . & raining . . . & raining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .