Watching the storm

It seems with the discovery of Facebook, I have neglected my much loved blog. I will now attempt to give it some love and give you an idea of what has been going on in my head these past few days (in more than just one sentence thoughts).

I love this time of year. Yes it is hell fire hot. But we are at that time of summer where every evening the dark clouds build out east and south and we sit in anticipation, begging the clouds to break and give us a much needed respite from the heat. We know the storms at their worst can cause all kinds of damage, but there is something magical in the lightning and something so healing in the rain.

Lately, I have been feeling (and in talking to others I am not alone...) a similar yearning for a figurative storm to break. I can see dark clouds of life looming and can feel the "barometric pressure" closing in on me. I seem to drag myself: surviving the refining fire of the day, seeking but never finding a restful sleep, and waking exhausted to begin again. I think we are all yearning for the storm to break. We see the clouds of life hovering over us. How much worse will it get before we recieve the cooling drops of rain we long for?

The funny thing is: Its waiting for us. Unlike the rain that seems so fickle, so quick to disappoint, we have living water to rely on, to refresh us as the pressure builds. And it is there waiting for us to partake of it. All we gotta do is ask. So many times in my life, I have watched the storm clouds gather and waited and waited for the answers, for the healing to come. But I never thought to ask.

"....If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water." John 4:10

For all of us facing the storm, waiting for the cooling drops of rain to heal us... I think we are all aware that this is only the beginning of the long portent leading up to the return of our Savior. It will be difficult, so overwhelming. But we dont have to wait for his return to find respite and peace.... We just have to ask.