Trading Ashes for Beauty

The best word to describe our weather is unpredictable.  The summer was, for the most part, pleasant – with lots of lovely evenings.  Low humidity and pleasant temperatures.  The calendar flipped to September and, with it, came the extreme heat and highest humidity in months.  The heat has been relentless.  And not a drop of rain.  Grass that, remarkably, stayed green all summer is now drying out and turning brown.  The potted porch flowers beg for water – twice a day.  We need a good rain.

That is my husband’s phrase.  “A good rain.”  By that, he means a soft, steady rain.  Not a downpour that will simply run off and form huge puddles.  But a rain that will soften the dried out earth and continue until it has seeped down into the roots.  A rain that quenches, refreshes and encourages fresh life.  It is the kind of rain that makes you feel good!

My heart – my soul – loves a good rain.  An outpouring from Heaven that refreshes – and soaks deep to my roots.  But those do not come every day.  If I am not careful, and purposeful, my soul can begin to dry.  To become caked like parched soil.  Growth is slow, even stopped, and brown patches can begin to show.  When God does want to shower me with grace, mercy, goodness or wisdom, my hardness can make the rain ineffective. 

My husband and I try to keep the yard and the plants watered.  We try to keep the soil soft.  And ready.  The rain will come.  When it does, the ground will be able to soak it all in.  I try to keep my heart ready.  Daily in the word.  Keeping sins confessed.  Routinely checking my attitude.  When the rain comes, I can throw my umbrella aside – and soak it all in!!

Maybe you guessed….the FMF prompt is rain!  The forecast is for rain this weekend.  Let it rain – physically and spiritually!