Wednesday, September 22, 2010

IN the rain...

DISCLAIMER: sorry if I keep harping on the same subject, but the Lord has just really been teaching me a lot through rain during this season of my life. Maybe it's bc Im inwardly really wanting one of those Vera Bradley umbrellas, but I'm hoping it goes a little deeper than that:)


I've always hated getting stuck in the rain.  You know, where you've gone into the grocery store with a sunny sky and then come out to a downpour? Or you're meeting someone for dinner and it starts raining...but you forgot your umbrella, so in you run, as fast as you can to try and escape the inevitable frizzy hair, damp clothes, and wet, slippery shoes.  I've never been one to just stand out and play in the rain-i don't run IN the rain; I run FROM the rain!  Today gave me a whole new perspective tho...

We were in Galveston, driving along the seawall, and the rain just started pouring down in steady sheets.  I found myself dreading having to eventually get out of the car, and that's when I noticed those who had already ventured out into the storm.  There were runners all over the sidewalks, many of them who were just beginning their runs with the start of the rain, and others who were in the middle or maybe even nearing the end of their runs.  But, no matter their position, they all had one thing in common: these people were not running FROM the rain; they were running IN the rain!  The weather was not a distraction to them at all, or at least not to any onlookers.  You see, they were on a mission to complete their race, regardless of their surrounding conditions.

As I thought about this, I was reminded of several weeks ago when we were getting a lot of rain where I live.  I try to stick closely to my training program, and I was determined that week to not let the weather slow me down.  So, when I started sprinkling right before I began my run, I decided to not let a little rain stop my plans and just continued with my normal training by running in the rain.  I remember thinking it was a pretty cool feeling to be so committed to something and just go with the flow.  And it was even neat to face different elements and see how I overcame them to complete my task.  But is that always my attitude? Sadly, no.  But Joe I long to be like that-to be so committed to my mission from God that I will stop at NOTHING to accomplish it!

Storms in life are inevitable, yet usually unpredictable.  We can choose to try to run from them, but oh what we can learn when we choose to persevere in them.  

"lord, help me to stay the course and to finish well and to finish strong..."

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