Send Your Rain

It was 1999 when we moved to Flagstaff, Arizona.  We lived in the hotel where Mark was working for the first month and when we finally moved into our house we were anxious to start feeling connected to our new city.  We made our way to a little church called, Flagstaff Christian Fellowship.  We pulled up to an old stone structure the size of a small chapel.  Inside those walls our ministry to college students began.  Every sunday night 350 students from Northern Arizona University gathered for a time of worship and dinner afterwards.  I learned volumes about how to feel lots of people creatively.  I also learned that my heart has a very special place which welcomes and connects with this age group.  We took the worship team as our responsibility to care for and grow.  It was these college kids who introduced me to the song "Send Your Rain".  I had never really thought about asking God to "send your rain".  I remember singing "Send Your Rain" acapella, in the dark, of the church the last Sunday we were there before leaving for Wayside Chapel and San Antonio.

We brought the song with us, and we would sing it again in the sanctuary at Wayside with dear friends.  It is sweet memory.

This week we've been staying in Phoenix at my parents home.  I grew up here and Mark and I lived here for years, so the climate is not new or surprising to me.  In the morning I've gotten my coffee and headed for the back patio, where there's a fountain giving the illusion of water flowing.  The coolest part of the day is still in the 80's, however it has felt freeing to sit outside away from the hum of the air conditioner and ceiling fans.  Surrounding me are the sights and sounds of the desert.  Does the desert have beauty, well....there are those who say yes, but for my soul the desert is place that feels pretty parched.

When it rains here, especially in summer, people often open their doors and windows to hear and smell the rain.  It feels like a gift and as the water comes down the temperature drops and the dust settles.

I love the rain.

This morning I looked up "send the rain" and found there were 460 options for me to choose from on Bible Gateway through Google.  As I read through them the obvious struck me in a way I hadn't thought about...the people could not MAKE it rain.  Their need for rain was a place of deep dependence on God. 

Today when the ground needs rain we walk out and turn on the hose, and yet have you noticed that that when you water your lawn, your flowers, and your plants from the hose they are not as vibrant and healthy as when they are drenched in rain.  The ph is critical and in order to try and duplicate it for your yard you must work really hard, and even then its still not quite the same.

We can't make it rain.  Mark can't make the churches he's applying with respond.  We can't force the emails and phone calls to come. The times when we have sat and talked about trying to make something happen have ended with us agreeing that we are not trusting God in our efforts to "make it rain".

We are dependent, and we are aware that our surroundings look, smell and taste of the desert.

My heart is praying for God to send His rain, and my desire to remain surrendered to my neediness there....although I still find it difficult to not check email every 30 minutes in hopes of some word from one of the places holding Mark's resume.

Comments

[Kelli]

I remember vividly singing this song with you and Mark for church! We sang it at least 2 or 3 times (one of those was with Derek and Katy and Kelsi), and it always gave me chills. :) You guys will ALWAYS have such a special place in our hearts, and we will always have the memories we've shared together! I am looking forward to making more!! :) Love you guys to pieces and am praying for God to send His rain down on your precious family! Perhaps even a flood?? ;)

[Tom]

Mm, thanks for this. So good.

I'm loving Job 5:9-10, the marvelous wonder of His rain.

[amy a.]

Interesting...as I prayed for you and your fam. this morning, I was reading and thinking about the hot fire that burned furiously around Shad., Mesch., and Abed...that Jesus was there and they were "unbound and unharmed." It's what I was asking for you, amidst the fire. I'll adjust that prayer to include rain... :)