Rain and Sun

Okay, now I'm really getting ticked off. I went out and bought a huge flat of petunias. I planted a bunch of them by the mailbox, and treated them so they'd be too stinky for any creature to eat. Then it rained and washed off all the stinky stuff. Now two are missing. I have some more petunias waiting to be planted, so it's not a real loss, but it's still frustrating.

Which leads to another question. Why so much rain? Yesterday was rainy. Today is rainy. Tomorrow is supposed to be rainy. The Bible study girls were talking about it, and almost everyone I know is dealing with some level of depression. My guy and I have been snapping at each other more lately than in the last five years or so. I know we need some rain. A.'s blog this weekend dealt with that balance so nicely. But you know—like A. said, we need sun, too. I have eight tomato plants in my back yard just going wild. They're growing up over their five foot enclosure, and it's just June! And I have tons of little green tomatoes on them, thirty little green grape tomatoes to a cluster, thanks to the rain, but they aren't ripening. They need sun.

So here's my take on the sun and the rain in our lives. God sends us both. I can personally tell you it's true. And when I get a lot of rain--or hard times--my spiritual self can grow like a weed if I have the right attitude. Then the sun comes out again, and I can pull together all the things that I've learned--all that wild growth--and I can begin to share it. That's the fruit.

I think that's how it works in my life. But, you know, I've seen people who were going through just awful times--cancer, persecution--really bad things, and were able to share and help people grow, and bear fruit anyway. So maybe when I get a little bit more mature I'll be able to reach out of bad times to help people--to bear fruit in the rainy season.

-Godseeker