I saw you roll your eyes at the very mention of the word, rain. I love a simple rain shower. It brings out the child buried within me. My brother and I played in the rain as kids. It was actually a storm and there were small pieces of hail mixed in with the rain. Mother gave us foil for our heads. Yes, we had foil "caps", officially making us moving lightning rods. But we laughed so much. In college I played in the rain with my best friend. We were soaked, but oh we had fun!
Our lake house has a metal roof and when it rains, it gets LOUD! But it is soothing. It is a sound that brings relaxation to me. Until we got Blue (Bleu), our blue merle Sheltie. He was terrified of rain. Thunder and lighning sent him into a whole lot of shaking mess. When it rained, he wanted to be on me. We would have to sedate him if the weather got really bad. We thought having another dog would help him. No, he just trained her to be more afraid than he was.
As a child I hated thunderstorms. My Mother told me a secret that helped ease some of my fear. She said that the thunder was God's way of warning the animals that a storm was coming and they needed to seek shelter. And the lighning was His way of lighting their path. Then she did the best thing ever, she tucked a Bible in the bed with me. My brother slept in the room next to mine until we moved to Talladega. He used to play tricks on me, scare me. He had a nightmare once. My Mother gave him a Bible and said no monsters would get him if he just held onto that Bible. Thud, wake up, scream, get the bible, go back to sleep was the pattern of sleep that night. Everytime he rolled over, he dropped the Bible. It was an ALL NIGHT pattern.
Dogs do not understand storms or nightmares. They can't grip a Bible, so they seek protection the best way they can. For Blue, I was his protector. For Tippy, heavy sedation, a thunder shirt, and inside the TV console is her protection at the moment. For me? A teddy bear and a Bible.
I talk to God all day, everyday. I have converstaions with Him. It is a comfort to converse with Him for me. I find when my mind is racing with a million thoughts reading becomes difficult. But praying, I can do! Praying through storms, both weather related and life storms, calms the fear and the thoughts, then I can read scriptures. Usually the Psalms help me stay in a calm state.
I have struggled with depression most of my life. In my darkest storms, I have been able to pray. God rescued me from myself. He has shown me His love and given me direction. He removed people from my life who kept me from relying on Him. He found ways to strengthen my faith.
My blogs can seem like I am preaching, but I am not.. Grace Additives is what I am learning from God within my life. Some days are difficult and I can not write, think or be anything but a vegetable. Sometimes those days turn into weeks. My storm is inside and it is a struggle to find the rainbow. But God hears my silence. (Romans 8:26-27 "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God.") He knows what I need to get me out of the stormy waters. He gives me grace and adds to my faith. Some days I write. Some writings are published in my blog. Others are in a series of notebooks.
Psalm 23:2b-3a "He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul."
I believe all the good and bad things we go through, God uses. 1 Peter 1:7 "So that the proof of your faith, being more precious that gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Our storms serve a purpose. When faced with trials, we respond one of two ways. We either turn to God or away from Him. God can calm the storm and bring us safely to the other side. We will be strengthened because we sought Him and we can help others facing similar storms. This is why I write, this is why Grace Additives is here.
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