Rain

Why is it, that every time I plant new, tiny seeds in our garden, it pours down rain?

It has been coming steadily and constantly since last evening.

The kids are worried that all of the seeds of our hard work will be washed away.

I hold out hope; thinking that perhaps they are packed in enough to withstand the downpour.

This makes me think of my children. Raising a family is much like a garden, isn't it?

How many times do we, mothers and fathers, wonder if the "seeds" we have planted in the hearts of our children will be able to "withstand" the sudden "downpours" that sometimes come their way?

Sometimes, we fear that all of our efforts will be washed out in some sort of huge, flash flood in life.

But, for those of us who are Christian, we have hope.

We know that "fear and worry" are tools of the enemy.

In Christ, we have joy and in Him is our assurance...not that there will never be trials or sorrow or struggles in the lives of our children; perhaps, even failures, some of them quite significant...but, rather, that no matter what happens, we can trust that "all good things come" to those who love the Lord.

Yes, the storms of life might pounce upon the bare heads of our children from time to time; leaving them dripping and soaking and shivering with cold. (Speaking metaphorically, that is.)

However, we can place our trust in God and rejoice with hope and joy that the sunshine will always follow the rain. The wet, sopping grounds will always be dried in the warmth of its rays.

And, though we might not always stop to think of it...the rain was just as needed as the sun; for it is during the rain that the earth is being nourished, the crops are being fed, the secret work of God is being done...

Just like my little seeds need the rain in order to burst forth in new life, so too, do our children need it in order to be nourished and strengthened and experience growth.

As I type this, I hear "God's music" outside my window...the soft, steadily falling rain.

If the seeds are washed away and do not grow in a couple weeks, we will plant more.

So, too, can we plant more love, more kindness, more faith, more guidance, and more truth into the hearts and souls of our children whenever the storms of life attempt to wash our "seeds" away.

And, then, like the sun, our prayers will bring forth the warm rays of God's love...

and our children will grow.