As the storm subsides...

In the last few months, my personal and extended family has suffered many hardships. It seemed the challenges in everyone's life were cropping up and appeared to be insurmountable. In the midst of these bouts of turmoil, our local area in Texas finally got some much needed rain. When the storm arrived, it was heavy. The ground was so parched, dry and hardened that it refused the drenching rain, and flooded it downstream. Flash floods persisted for days. The rain eventually softened, and continued for 3 or 4 days- something we hadn't seen in years.

As the rain softened, so did the ground. It is now so much more receptive to my bare feet as I walked in the backyard, even days after the rain has stopped. In my lawn, a fresh crop of clovers blossomed where the Bermuda grass had died out from the drought. My vegetable plants, which I had considered "too far gone" have been rejuvinated. The leaves of the eggplant grew exponentially, the tomatoes began to show signs of life again, and the seedlings began bursting out of the soil in preparation for a late fall harvest.

With all this change, and the needed change my family is seeking, God laid on my heart this beautiful image of how we can be hardened through periods of life. Once hard-hearted, nothing can penetrate our outer crust. And then- the storm hits. Sometimes they are violent, crashing storms that disrupt our lives, rip away our top soil, and even disturb those downstream from us. At first nothing penetrates, but with the continual storm still existing, the circumstances may let up a bit, but they're not gone. That's where the softening takes place. What's left after the tough skin of our souls has been washed away or sloughed off? New, fresh, youthful, resilient, shiny skin. Skin so fresh it glimmers. Fresh soil.

Eager to begin a new thing, our heart immediately activates when the storm clears and the sun comes out. This time is so fertile. It's almost alarmingly fertile. Anything can take root. New seeds of hope and life, or weeds of destruction (just like the clovers). Both good and bad flourish in newness. Both require judicious care in order to cultivate the desired outcome. What can grow is either a fruitful plant- long neglected but eager to grow, or a rampant weed- never dealt with properly in the past and now threatens to take over all good life. It's up to the gardener to cultivate his choice crop. He should react swiftly to the weed before it takes over and kindly, gently, and diligently work hard on the heels of God's healing storm to bring back to life the fruits of his faith.

These storms, often seen as inconvenient, troublesome and devastating can be the very thing to correct and replenish our lives. This boost of power has saturated the ground far more than we could ever accomplish with self-administered watering. The once barren ground is now softened and humbled, it is ripe for pruning, fertilizing, and continued watering with the life-giving water.