Rain

We don’t like rain. Not at all. The mere mention of rain makes us shudder. We absolutely loathe rain. Rain is a trial to be endured. And it is hard to convey the seriousness of our aversion to rain. When we express our anxiety to anyone, we get responses like, “Oh, I just love a rainy day! It is so cozy and you can snuggle up and drink hot cocoa!”

To each his own, I guess. But we don’t share these sentiments. And it is not because we haven’t tried. It is just that things haven’t worked out for us in such a picturesque way. After all the leaks - and the consequences of those leaks - in our first trailer, you really can’t blame us. And after the other night…

We are in one of the best sites we have ever had. It is huge and no one is nearby. We have space to run and play, and we are right in front of a huge lake. The muddy kind of lake that is full of minnows and catfish. The quiet kind of lake where herons and egrets slink along the banks and glide close over the water. And the kind of lake that is teeming with gators. Gators with names like Scrunge and Filth and Grouchy and Grouchier. Grouchier is the biggest we have seen here, and Scrunge is our favorite because he hangs out at our site. For two weeks we have our very own pet alligator!

Yes, we consider Scrunge to be our very own. But I don’t know how he survived the other night. I woke up at some point in the middle of the night to absolute chaos. Deafening rain was pounding the roof right over my face. It continued for a long time, getting heavier and heavier, with no sign of relenting. I waited, patiently, for a lull. But it never came. Incredibly, the rain just grew even louder and a furious round of thunder and lightning began. I got up and went to check on the kids. With the exception of Joshua, who was sleeping soundly, everyone was up and out of bed.

“Are you guys ok?” I shouted.

“Whaaat??” Kelly shouted back.

Never mind, we didn’t need to say anything.

We opened the blinds and looked out the windows and then at each other, wide-eyed. I checked my phone: 2:45 a.m. I checked my weather app: “Storms continuing until 7 a.m.” There was nothing to do but go back to bed.

Four more hours of this. I crawled under the covers and tried to lie still. Lightning flashed in my face through the blinds. Thunder boomed. But the rain, pummeling the trailer a few feet from my head, was almost unbearable. It felt like we were slowly being pushed down into the ground. It seemed like the water would bore holes in the roof. I could not believe the power in that rain. It was hard not to worry about leaks. After all, it had happened before . . .

As I lay there considering the incredible force driving this water down from the sky, I thought about how helpless we were, trembling in our little box of a home, with no control over this rain. I thought about the God Who made it, and how this storm was just a small display of His power. I thought about His might and His holiness and how there is a day already set for me when I will die and stand before Him. I thought about how terrifyingly hopeless it would be for me to stand before such a God without the righteousness of Jesus Christ - given to me in exchange for my sin because of His shed blood on the cross. And there in the dark, in the storm, in the rain, my heart leaped with joy and gratitude for the incredible mercy extended to me.  Before I knew it, it was morning. The rain had stopped, for now . . .

“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” Hebrews 9:27-28

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21

Photos by Jenny Venturo

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Used by permission.  All rights reserved.