Monday and Tuesday were wet and gray.

Wednesday morning the sun appeared…and these icy puddles were everywhere.

Last night the clouds came back…and it hasn’t stopped raining since.  Literally. Has. Not. Stopped.  For one minute even.

It’s not supposed to stop for two more days. 

It’s so wet.  And so gray.

But I’m not complaining about the weather anymore, remember?

So I’ll be thankful.  For my warm house.  For my husband getting to stay home from work due to the weather.  For potato soup and french bread.  For fun winter crafts and pretend voyages and Mario Bros. on the Super Nintendo.  There’s so much to be thankful for there really is no time to complain.

This evening as Miss A looked out the window at our flooded backyard she said, quite mournfully, “Oh, Mom will it ever stop raining.”

Of course she had my complete sympathy.  But I couldn’t help but think…we just had sunshine yesterday.  And until Monday  we’ve had amazing sunny and warm days for a couple of weeks straight.  And yet, after an entire day of rain, she thinks it will never stop raining.

It seemed a fitting illustration for words I read just this afternoon:

How long do our days appear when our soul is cast down within us!  Time flies with full-fledged wing in our summer days, but in our winters it flutters painfully.  A week withn prison walls is longer than a month at liberty.
-Charles Spurgeon, commentary on Psalm 13

Last night a good friend of ours taught at church and he talked a lot about suffering.  How we all have our own kind of suffering to bear, and how our perspective makes all the difference in how we handle it.  “Proper remembrance of the past corrects the perspective of the present,” he said.  Look back and remember the work God has done in your life.   “When we lose sight of what God has already done, we lose sight of what He is currently doing.” 

He exhorted everyone to stop dwelling on that bad thing in their lives and instead look at how God is using that bad thing to change us for good.

Obviously I was very moved by what he was sharing.  I’m always affected when God’s Word is taught.  But sometimes, it hits me so directly it just blows me away.

Like the night God opened my eyes to how big His love is.

Last night was the same.  When our pastor talked about the joy we can have because of our relationship with Christ.  And then he said the words that really grabbed a hold of my heart : “NOTHING can change our position with Christ.  We are REDEEMED.  By HIS work.  NOTHING can separate us from His love.”

It’s a simple truth.  I’ve known the words of Romans 8 for as long as I can remember.  And yet, like a rainy day can make me forget what it’s like to see the sun, a heavy spirit can make me forget the truth about the One who loves me most.  I can take burdens on myself that are not reasonable, and are unnecessary.  Sometimes the weight I try to pick up is about as ridiculous as my daughter wanting to walk outside and stop the rain. 

We read a children’s devo together this week and it’s focus was Psalm 118:1… “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!”  The point of the story was that, yes of course we thank God for all of the good things in our lives, but more importantly we give thanks because HE IS GOOD.  He deserves our praise and gratitude, for who He is.

God loves me more than I can possibly imagine.

And NOTHING can separate me from Him and His love.

How can I not rejoice?

But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel:
Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
Isaiah 43:1-2