Here is something I wrote a little over a year ago...

Rain on the Front Porch

I sat on the front porch this morning, alone. That doesn't happen often enough. As I sat, I listened. I could here air conditioners, neighbors talking, Evette inside on the phone and the baby crying. All were beautiful sounds. I could also hear a song in my mind. There is almost always one there. Today I heard "fill me up, fill me up, fill me up." While this played in my head, I looked at the lawn. It's brown and dying and is in desperate need of rain. I could then hear God reminding me of every drop of rain that has fallen in my life. The struggles and hardships came rushing back like water returns to the ocean after the crash of a wave. When those situations presented themselves I couldn't see an ounce of good in them. Rain is an interruption or a nuisance, isn't it? So if there is a season of rain in our lives it has to be bad, right?

My mind wandered back to the song and I found myself dwelling on that line, "fill me up." That line implies a sense of emptiness. Emptiness leads to weakness. But ah, we have a promise that applies to weakness. It's a promise I have held to dearly for years. The Lord told Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.(2cor 12:9)" The Lord allowed a hardship in Paul's life and though Paul asked that it be removed, it was not. In order to be filled up and for Christ's power to rest upon us, we must be empty and weak; otherwise, we get in the way.

So I am encouraged and I am thankful for the rain, Lord. I am thankful that you will never give me more than I can bear and that you will be faithful to me in any situation. I am glad that I can be emptied of all the world has for me and filled up by and with you. Praise you lord that at the top of the 'rough side of the mountain' there is joy. And Lord, thank you for time alone, just to talk, that I may be reminded of such wonderful lessons.