She sat listening, as the rain hit the pavement, the thunder rolling in the distant sky. The days had gotten longer lately, harder, full of trial. Her heart had ceased to heal the way she wanted, but as she listened to the raindrops fall and let the smell of renewal overwhelm her she could sense Him. She could finally feel Him. She couldn’t count the number of days since she had felt his presence in this way but the air was alive with His love and His embrace. The wind was full of His power, His majesty. In the midst of the rain, and the cold, she knew He was calling her name. He was surrounding her and it was a welcomed sense of comfort.
The world had stopped, the sound of rain echoing in her now distant mind. She could smell the wet Earth; feel the wind as it embraced her. But her Spirit had awoken with the desire to lift her face to the heavens. She was alive, alive in this moment more than she had been in many days. And despite the ache in her heart there was an endless joy. The endless call of the earth’s praise towards the heavens revived her.
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This is my prayer, in the desert, in this seemingly endless season of sorrow and trial, that my heart remember this moment. Remember this overwhelming sense of joy. The sound of earth praising it’s creator, the underlying beckoning of my Father for my heart and my pain. He is the one who hears my cry, he knows my fears before I bring them to his feet and he will deliver me from them.
I will rejoice in this moment, rejoice in the renewal of my hope and my faith. I have a reason to praise. If only for this sound, this smell, the color of a darkened sky, the power of a blowing wind. In every season, even in this desert one, I will rejoice. And I will let the sorrows that fill my heart now, build me into a stronger woman. So that when I am emptied again my hope remains.
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It was an amazing sound, the loud rolling of thunder and the cry of the heavens. It brought the desert to life. It was in this darkened time, when the sky was black and everything was wet, that she felt the Lord around her more clearly than any other time. And she saw it, the symbolic nature of such a thing. It was in her weakness that she too felt close to the Lord. In the times when sorrow seemed abounding and the season of trial seemed to never have an end that she drew herself closer to the Almighty Father. That she was brought to her knees.
She knew then, that the clouds would linger for a time, the tears would fall. But in the end she would be new, revived, refreshed, ready. It was an ironic connection she had to the rain, but here in the desert she was grateful for the gift, an endless earth full of endless joy. It was hers for the taking, and she would not hesitate to accept the peace.
When the rain ceases, the promise will remain. And in His arms I will reside. Revived, Refreshed, and Ready.
