And you will keep me safe
And you will keep me close
And rain will make the flowers grow.
Victor Hugo
We hear it all the time in quotes and inspirational messages that flowers can't grow without rain. And rain is always equivalent to hardships; the difficult times in our lives that bring us pain; the moments of great weakness.
But what if we took a second to see it differently.
I have always loved the rain, it's peaceful, calming qualities and the cold feeling on my skin. There is something about rain that is so consuming to the mind and the flesh: whether it is because of the sensations or the power of washing us clean. I long for days that I get to hear pellets of rain bounce off the chimney damper or the windshield of my car as I drive down back roads. Out of any other ordinary moments, these are my favorite.
Yet people have somehow warped this idea of rain into something wrongfully forceful and strong. Almost to the point that rain sounds like drowning in the emotions that we suppress until they become our reality and turn into "problems."
I want you to close your eyes and just imagine a torrential pour of rain, the rumble of thunder in the distance, wind lashing against your body and water rushing off your arms into the earthy puddles of grass at your feet.
How does it feel? How does it sound?
Troubling... uneasy... uncomfortable?
Now take a step back and close your eyes again. This time imagine standing outside in a steady rain, the rain drops hitting leaves with a solid splash, water droplets falling from drooping leaves and the cool air that surrounds each rain drop pushing past your rain-soaked skin.
....
How does it feel? How does it sound?
Soothing... calm... peaceful... tranquil?
What if the latter feelings and evoked senses were what came into your head when someone used the metaphor that flowers need rain to grow? Think about how different our weaknesses would appear to us. God is the rain that is fully consuming to our spirit. That is the kind of rain that we need in our lives. It isn't struggling through temptation and sin because we have been forgiven through Christ. Instead, the rain is God's love that drowns out the sounds of every other worldly distraction; so consuming in nature that after a drought we soak in every thirst-quenching drop.
Because here is the wonderful thing, regardless of the drought (a time in our lives where we lose sight of God), there will always be a day where rain comes. And with every drought, our roots grow deeper so that we can still soak in faith in the absence of God. We can grow with patience knowing that no matter how undeserving we are, God is the rain of our flowers.
Yes, flowers do need rain to grow. AND we need God to thrive.
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