Go Beyond

Houston, Texas en route to Doha, Qatar

It’s raining in Houston today — a welcome sight, especially because we saw so little rain last year. Had it not been for my trip to Cambodia during the rainy season last year, I might have forgotten altogether what rain looks, sounds, and feels like. I struggled to keep my landscape alive and watched the flowers in my beds slowly wither away in spite of nocturnal waterings. But now, things are different. My grass is green, the flowers in my beds are dressed in brilliant color, and my wife’s little tomato and herb garden is thriving. When I arrived at the Emirates Airlines counter an hour ago, the familiar face there asked me if I was enjoying the rain. When I answered affirmatively she smiled and said that I am the first to say so. “Everybody else is complaining,” she continued. I asked if she had ever heard the old saying: “All sunshine makes the desert.” Again she smiled and said, “Yes, we have lots of desert in the UAE.”

It has also been raining on me. It happens often that just as I am getting ready to leave the country stuff happens that has me scrambling to stay dry. Yesterday, just after I picked up one vehicle from the repair shop, my son was driving down the street when out of nowhere a golf ball lobbed by a backyard golfer hit and shattered the windshield on his vehicle. None of the folks in the neighborhood ‘fessed up, not even the guy watching the golf channel when Jonathan knocked on his door. These are just a couple of the several last minute challenges that have rained down and caused me concern. But, that’s life. Things always break down or get broken at inconvenient times. God never guaranteed that we would live trouble-free lives if we serve Him. In fact, He actually uses these kinds of unexpected and seemingly ill-timed challenges to do good things in the lives of His followers.

So, I am on my way to Qatar, a little wet from the current rain in my life but confident that God knows exactly what He is doing. I am always encouraged at times like this when I reflect on His goodness over the years. I can look back and see how He has used the rains to make my faith a little greener, to make my life more vibrant, and to bring forth a little more of the fruit He wants to see in my life — “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23). So, let it rain and let it pour. It’s all a part of what it takes to become more of the person God wants me to become. I have learned to see His hand at work in both the sunshine and the rain. He is unquestionably faithful and good and kind.