Here Comes the Rain!

It is rainy season here in Nairobi. It has rained every day since we arrived. I’m not complaining, at least it is rain and not snow and I haven’t needed a jacket or coat but it has been very wet. Last night we were stuck in traffic and it poured rain. I guess thunderstorms are rare in this part of Kenya but we experienced a pretty good sound and light show while sitting in traffic last night. It rained so much that the road looked more like a river and driveways looked like streams. The Nairobi River runs behind Dan and Nancy’s house. In my limited experience, water is always flowing in the river but it is usually a slow meandering current. When we finally got home last night the river was roaring along. Even after the rain stopped the river continued to roar along for most of the night. It is normally so quiet here at night that it seemed strange trying to sleep with sound of the river in the background. Don’t get me wrong, I slept fine anyway.

There are two rainy seasons in Kenya; one at the beginning of the summer (now) and one at the end of the summer in March / April. Very little rain falls outside of the rainy season. If the rains are light then a drought and famine occurs. As I was thinking about the rains and the importance of the rainy season to the lives of so many people here I started to think about God and the blessings he pours down on us. God rains blessings down all the time. He made us, called us, empowers us and sends us. He has given everything, even His son, to make a way for us. So, the question is why do we experience droughts in our lives? I think we miss the ongoing rainy season of God’s love because we get out of the rain. We allow the stuff in our lives, our problems, our wants, our excuses, to get between us and the downpour. In Matthew 7:6 Jesus cautions us, “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.” I pray that I am not a dog or a pig trampling the abundance of God underfoot and turning to attack the Father who loves me. I hope that I am always standing out in the rain.