{Bring on the Rain and God Surprises too!)

It is raining today and I am smiling. I can honestly say I am excited about it! 

If we had no rain, the sunshine would not be so pleasant: 

if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, 

prosperity would not be so welcome.

-- Charlotte Bronte

You would not have heard that I enjoy the regular daily rain out of me even 6 months ago! I am not even kidding you! It used to make me feel trapped. If you have ever seen the movie Camelot, that is how I wished the rain to be. Rain all night, but give me sweet sunshine during the day, Amen. 

I need sunshine like people need water. Some of you know what I am talking about! 

However, this precious soul that I adore taught me to love rain and I should in many ways welcome it! I am grateful and would go sit in it now just because I think it would be wonderful, pure and cleansing! Certainly my hair would turn curly and make up would wash off, but I don't care!  

Is it off  in my personality to love the rain when it 

thunders and lightning lights up the sky? HA! 

I am just sayin! 

If yes, I am so good with that as I so do. I always have liked that part of it. 

Adventure girl I am and have always been!

In reflection of the rain to my life currently, there are many, many adversities and storms going on personally and professionally. Too crazy and numerous to name! I feel I am being stripped of who I am, as if rain washing all that I was and making me new and clean again. I feel like God is saying you can trust me with this Kristin.  It feels as if God is asking me to take off the old wineskin and let him make me beautiful and strong in His way and give me beauty for ashes. This is very hard as we (I!!!) can hold onto old wineskins because they are familiar, even if not all good and even a detriment to our lives.  I know he wants new wineskin and beauty for ashes for you too! He just works like that! 

So God, today and every day forward, I give it all to you as I rest in your presence and be still and know that you are God! I am excited about this! No God, I don't want the pain, but if it takes that to grow into who you want me to be, I am willing. Thank you for forgiveness, shedding off fears and for giving me faith and tenacity to walk/run forward. Thank you for desiring to do something with this tattered up soul as mine. I hope I can be your kind of blessing to people through it. Oh, I pray I can be sunshine to people and sweet cleansing rain too...I just do! I am not where I was certainly however safe it looked, but through this walk see little glimmers of light and just good. For that I am grateful! AMEN!

 

A thought for your day and life....

God wants to surprise and bless you. Just like a surprise in our every day lives from a loved ones causes much delight and joy, making us feel special, God wants to surprise us with His goodness. When we take the time to realize the small surprises that show up in our lives, this will create an attitude of faith and joy. He even wants to take what seems to be a setback or distraction in our lives, and turn it around to bless us; surprising us!

 The Scripture says in Deuteronomy 28, “If we will keep God first place, if we will walk in His ways, all these blessings will overtake us.” That means you won’t be able to outrun the good things of God. One translation of the word “overtake” means “to catch by surprise.” Our Heavenly Father wants to be good to us. He wants to amaze us with His goodness. We should get up every morning with the attitude, “I can’t wait to see what God is going to do!” And you may have had some victories in the past, but you haven’t seen anything yet; God is about to super size your dreams and surprise you by accomplishing more than you can ask or think.

Image: via Etiketter Devotion: J. Osteen