No Rain, No Rainbows!

"I will cause it to rain on the earth"

Genesis 7:4

My family and I were enjoying the rain a few weeks ago, and it led us to an interesting conversation.

Rain is a treat for us.  Living in Southern California, we don't get enough of it, to my way of thinking.  The weather is so often beautiful, so we enjoy the change that rain and clouds bring.

Our conversation was about some of our "memorable" experiences in the rain.  I actually started the conversation, as I was thinking of a particularly rainy day, when we weren't under the shelter of a roof, in our cozy home, with access to blankets and hot cocoa.  

The day I was remembering was at the 2010 Olympics, in Vancouver, Canada.  We were attending a snowboarding event, and it rained and rained that day.  When I think back now, I can't imagine why they didn't erect a tent or canopy of some kind over the spectators.  It was a good-sized section of bleachers, but they had to know rainy weather was a possibility.

But that was my only complaint about Canada, and the Olympics, for that whole week, so that's not too bad!

Anyhow, it didn't take long before we were soaked.  Hats, coats, scarves, mittens, the works.  Soaked through.  We finally did manage to get our hands on four plastic garbage bags that the event workers were handing out as rain ponchos.  But it was far too late for us, as far as being wet.

The good news is, large plastic garbage bags do a great job of keeping you warm and keeping the rain off of you.  The bad news is that once you're wet, it's like a sauna inside that bag.

It was not our most pleasant experience.

I don't have any photos of our day at snowboarding; it was too wet to get the camera out.  So here's a photo of an aerial skiier in heavy fog for ya! 

So that was the rainy day experience I was thinking of... but that's not the rainy day my family was thinking of.

My Awesome Girl immediately recalled our visit to Washington, DC a few years ago, when we stood in line outside the National Archives, waiting to see our nation's treasures, such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

We waited in line for 45 minutes to get in.  And not just in the rain, as you might be guessing, but in a thunderstorm, with plenty of lightning.  Not having a great deal of experience with thunderstorms, my kids were pretty scared.  What I was feeling, most of all, was a thrill at the fact that all those people, were waiting all that time, in all that rain, to see those documents firsthand.

And though we were wet, at least we were warm...

See us?  We're the wet ones.  We just bought that umbrella, for $3, from a street vendor.

 
The Apple of my Eye was thinking of our trip to Missouri.  We spent a wonderful week exploring the beauty and history of that state, enjoying a couple of baseball games, and learning about people like Harry Truman and Mark Twain; Laura Ingalls Wilder and George Washington Carver; Daniel Boone, Walt Disney, Lewis and Clark.  Man, there was so much to learn in Missouri!

We also saw some of the most amazing rainstorms I've ever seen.  Like, deluges.  Downpours.  Torrents.   Giant, fat raindrops hitting the windshield as we drove from small town to small town.  And my sweetie was remembering one particular rainy day, when we stopped for gas, and he had to not only pump, but also make a minor adjustment to the car.  Suffice to say, he was a little wet when he got back in the car.  He was only mildly amused at the time, but he laughs about it now.

The Mighty Mississippi overflowing its banks from all the rain ~ Hannibal, Mo

Post-thunderstorm in Independence, Mo

My Amazing Boy's rainy day memory was from our visit to Kauai several years ago.  It rains a lot on Kauai.  Well, not a lot in quantity, but in frequency.  Every day.  Sometimes more than once a day.  Never for long, though. But by the end of our vacation, we had shopped in the rain, swum in the rain, hiked in the rain, kayaked in the rain, ate in the rain, snorkeled in the rain.... well, you get the idea. 

Though we all appreciated the truth of "No rain, no rainbows,"  I guess the rain made a big impression my youngest, because that was the rain memory that stood out strongest for him. 

Funny thing is, the sun still shines, even when it's raining!

Rain = Rainbows!

When you're getting rained on, it might not feel pleasant at the time.  But it serves its purpose.  The earth needs the water, and we couldn't have rainbows without it! 

It's the same with the "rainy" days in our hearts.  Trials and difficulties, pain and sorrow, are the dark days.  And when we're living them, we long for the sun.  But they serve God's purposes for our lives, in what we grow and what we learn.  And if we're trusting Him, we can look back on them with joy, and appreciate the rainbows!

~ "I will give you rain in its season,

the land shall yield its produce,

and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit" ~

Leviticus 26:4

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