Our God Rains...
Today, as we spent our church morning on the opposite schedule of our sweet Chinese girls, I had just a little bit of time to stand in praise of our God. The praise & worship music this morning was beautiful, in both main service and in High School, and it gave me a wonderful opportunity to clear my mind and allow for a few precious moments with God.
I stood in the High School service with both my hands raised in praise as we sang
Our God reigns...
Our God reigns...
Forever Your Kingdom reigns...
It was astounding as I truly felt the Lord's presence with me! In those intimate moments, our Holy Father gave me this breathtaking picture in my mind of how "God rains" and yet "God reigns".
You see, Deacon and I talk a lot about Maddox. We talk a lot about baby Faith. We talk a lot about Creation and we talk constantly about God. Often Deacon will said "God made me?" and then "God made me!" We talk about God's promises through rainbows... and we talk about rain. His favorite question for the last several months has been "why?" so we also talk about rain clouds... Why they are there and why we need rain. As we discussed it in considerable depth the other morning on the drive to swimming lessons, we both came to the conclusion that God sends rain for things to grow. WOW! Revelation! In those moments I didn't realize how such a simple statement could cause a flood in my heart... At least I didn't realize it until this morning ...with my eyes closed. As we sang, I saw myself standing under a rain cloud, arms raised high, realizing that while our God rains, oh my goodness does He reign.
God rains... sometimes opening up the floodgates of Heaven... sometimes allowing a steady, seemingly unending drizzle... to allow tremendous growth in our lives. Just as anything on this Earth needs rain to grow, I can say with complete certainty that my spiritual life was also in need of some major watering and growth. I know that who I am today and the relationship I have with the Lord is miles from where it was before September of last year. Sitting in that room, hearing for the first time that our child was very sick, was like taking a dingy from calm, sunny weather straight into the Perfect Storm. ...Yes, this journey has been a Perfect Storm of sorts, but as I have mentioned before, it is something I would never take back. Oh, as our God has allowed the rain to pound down upon us, permitting the things of this world to force us take a clear stance on where we would place our faith, our God has also rained down His love, His mercy, His grace, and His peace.
As we stood under that rain cloud in my mind, I also saw us with our hands lifted to the sky... No doubt our hands are still lifted today. They are lifted in praise of the things seen and unseen. They are lifted for this day and the days to come. They are lifted for the blessings and the trials. ...The are lifted because we know that even if we are under a storm cloud that doesn't seem to move, God is the ONE THING that will never change. He is the sure and steady rock... He is the foundation on which we must place our everything. Indeed... Our God REIGNS! Oh, how He reigns.
"Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: "Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns."-Revelation 19:6
I stood in the High School service with both my hands raised in praise as we sang
Our God reigns...
Our God reigns...
Forever Your Kingdom reigns...
It was astounding as I truly felt the Lord's presence with me! In those intimate moments, our Holy Father gave me this breathtaking picture in my mind of how "God rains" and yet "God reigns".
You see, Deacon and I talk a lot about Maddox. We talk a lot about baby Faith. We talk a lot about Creation and we talk constantly about God. Often Deacon will said "God made me?" and then "God made me!" We talk about God's promises through rainbows... and we talk about rain. His favorite question for the last several months has been "why?" so we also talk about rain clouds... Why they are there and why we need rain. As we discussed it in considerable depth the other morning on the drive to swimming lessons, we both came to the conclusion that God sends rain for things to grow. WOW! Revelation! In those moments I didn't realize how such a simple statement could cause a flood in my heart... At least I didn't realize it until this morning ...with my eyes closed. As we sang, I saw myself standing under a rain cloud, arms raised high, realizing that while our God rains, oh my goodness does He reign.
God rains... sometimes opening up the floodgates of Heaven... sometimes allowing a steady, seemingly unending drizzle... to allow tremendous growth in our lives. Just as anything on this Earth needs rain to grow, I can say with complete certainty that my spiritual life was also in need of some major watering and growth. I know that who I am today and the relationship I have with the Lord is miles from where it was before September of last year. Sitting in that room, hearing for the first time that our child was very sick, was like taking a dingy from calm, sunny weather straight into the Perfect Storm. ...Yes, this journey has been a Perfect Storm of sorts, but as I have mentioned before, it is something I would never take back. Oh, as our God has allowed the rain to pound down upon us, permitting the things of this world to force us take a clear stance on where we would place our faith, our God has also rained down His love, His mercy, His grace, and His peace.
As we stood under that rain cloud in my mind, I also saw us with our hands lifted to the sky... No doubt our hands are still lifted today. They are lifted in praise of the things seen and unseen. They are lifted for this day and the days to come. They are lifted for the blessings and the trials. ...The are lifted because we know that even if we are under a storm cloud that doesn't seem to move, God is the ONE THING that will never change. He is the sure and steady rock... He is the foundation on which we must place our everything. Indeed... Our God REIGNS! Oh, how He reigns.
"Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: "Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns."-Revelation 19:6
Comments
What a beautiful post today. Thank you for continuing to share your heart. I love and miss you friend.
Kim
I love how God rains, and reigns!
Oh my goodness. Your family blog is amazing and so full of witness to who are wonderful Father is.
You have become such an amazing woman of faith!
Love ya sister,
kari jackson
You are so amazing! I absolutely love you and have missed reading your words. They bring such comfort and joy to my heart. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
The mailman came...I don't have words. Thank you. I hold firm to His promises for our future. You are such a blessing. I'm so honored that you would share something so precious with me. It reminds me of Maddox and Chloe.
What a beautiful thought! If there is dating in Heaven - I hope they spend some time together. Deacon is such a cutie, I know that Maddox is a hunk in Heaven too.
Faith Clare - precious, perfect. She is such a blessed little girl. I pray that you are enjoying every moment of your pregnancy. We are so excited for all of you.
Hugs and love,
Kirsten
I was catching up on reading your blog - and as I was reading this post (and listening to KSBJ) the song "God Reigns" came on! Wow! I got goose bumps, girl! :)