Walking in the Rain

My alarm this morning was a roll of thunder. I laid in bed for a few minutes afterwards praying over the day that lay ahead of me. I try to do this every morning as soon as I wake up but I have to admit sometimes I fall back asleep mid prayer. I didn't do that this morning but I thought it would be funny if I did and God woke me back up with another loud clap of thunder. God is so patient with me.

So yes, it rained today. Pretty much all day. My shoot was suppose to be outside and it ended up being inside but it was suppose to look like it was outside so I had to bring the outside in. (Say that 5 times fast.) Bringing the outside in meant me trudging through the rain and doing some "landscaping" for our office building by borrowing some branches from a few bushes. I then assembled those branches using clamps to a background to create a beautiful and serene backdrop to a springtime tea. Do I sound crazy?

Nonetheless, I did the best with what I had to work with and all ended well. 

As I was walking out of work it was still raining but not hard. I had one of those moments. You know, when you're going through your day and then God throws you into your own little parable situation? Like you are a character in your own parable and there's some crazy cool meaning to something so simple that you always do but never thought about? Bear with me.

I usually don't ever use an umbrella unless it's pouring down rain. Most of the time I don't have an umbrella anyway but that's beside the point. As I walked through the rain today and felt drop after drop hit my face God revealed to me the sweetest lesson.

In life we will have trials...

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

John 16:33

We will face hurt, frustration, anger, pain, sickness, and death among many things. Just like trials, rain comes down and strikes our faces and we will want to run with our heads ducked in an attempt to dodge every drop. But, as I raised my face to the sky today and felt the drops hit, I smiled because rain on my face is nothing to run from. With trials, we grow more going through them than running away. I would much rather feel the rain that leads to wisdom on my face than to be a dry and warm fool. God uses trials to reveal His glory. 
1 Peter 1 says...

"In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." (v. 6-7)

So, take time to feel the rain on your face. Whatever trial you are going through, know that God is sovereign over every detail. He knows where every drop of rain will fall. Don't run away from what He is trying to teach you because you will find that it is within trials that you find a Savior full of immeasurable mercy, unspeakable joy, unexplainable peace, and the most gentle way of sanctifying our lives. And remember, the rain does not last forever. 

Enjoy!

Sarah

I'm Just A Sheep

I knew I couldn't go too long without getting back to blogging. And today seemed to be the perfect day. I have been fighting allergies like crazy for the past week. (Yes mom, I am partially to blame.) I don't take time to rest like I need to. I have always been the type to fight through feeling sick and often even being sick. Doctor's offices kind of freak me out.

This morning I woke up with Zoe jumping on the side of my bed wanting to go outside. When I opened my mouth to speak to her, nothing came out. On a beautiful Sunday after a fun weekend of recovering from a long work week, I think God is trying to tell me to be quiet. To shut myself down for a day and focus on Him. I love it when He makes it that easy. 

So, this morning I found myself with that blog itch that I get every now and then and felt compelled to start a new blog. For those of you that followed my old one, it has been archived for now. Don't worry I didn't fully delete it. It is just tucked away for the time being. I do that with journals, too. I write for a few months and then one day I will randomly stop and start writing in a new one. Then, months or even years later I pick up an old journal to use again and find it completely humbling how God has grown me in that time. Often times I have found myself writing with wisdom that I didn't even see at the time. Funny how we often know the answer to our questions but our minds take more time to accept them than our hearts.

Pastures of grace is a phrase I used a few weeks ago while talking to a friend. We read all throughout scripture of God being our Shepherd and we are his sheep.  
Jesus says in John 10...

"I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find PASTURE. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." 

(v. 9-10)

And then he goes on to say...

"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me- just as the Father knows me and I know the Father- and I lay down my life for the sheep." 
(v. 14-15)

There's also Psalm 23 which says...

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 

He makes me lie down in green pastures."

As I walk through one of the hardest times in my life I find God leading me from pasture to pasture of his redeeming grace. He is not only teaching me about his strength and love but He is showing me everyday His sovereignty over every detail of my life. That is what a Christian life should be... going from one pasture to the next always guided and protected by a Shepherd who know what's best for us. Might I add... a pasture is not always green. Even when we stray, he gently pulls us back in. He KNOWS us, even more that we know ourselves. And I have found that the more I know my Shepherd the more I want to be led by his staff. 

So, cheers to a new blog. I hope my ramblings and thoughts inspire you. 

Enjoy!

Sarah