Dusty dry seasons...

It hasn't rained where we live in Kakamega since the day we arrived, nearly a month ago! It is very hot here and the dust lays thick everywhere. When the winds come, we then become surrounded and covered in the orangey grit and dust that soon finds us as a surface to rest.

It made me think about how we could become as individuals and as a married couple if the rains never came. If we are never rained on, if we never had to travel through a few thunderstorms, would we become dry? Would we ever be fertile soil again if the dry season never ended?

Last week, I blogged about 'facing a storm'. Are we supposed to wait for each storm to pass or are suppose to continue our journey? I believe we are supposed to hold God's hand tightly through each rainy season. Surely we want it to rain? I always hear sayings like, 'a smooth sea never made a skilled sailor' and 'learn to dance in the rain.'

Storms help you find out who you really are. Dry seasons with no rain would just allow you to sit comfortably but eventually they would not produce anything. Here in Kenya, when there is no rain to be seen and everything becomes dry and the lands look barren, times become difficult. People walk further to fetch water and many struggle to grow enough to provide their family with food to eat. We too can become unfertile. Storms challenge us and deepen our character, they stretch us in able for us to grow. The rain produces new life, nourishment and it allows fruit to grow. You know when you are really parched and your tongue is desperate for a little water? I often have this feeling when we are walking through the villages in the midday heat. My mouth longs to be refreshed. Picture a meadow that is surrounded and lined by beautiful green trees full of lush green grass. Through the trials and storms we pass through, our Father God uses them to pull us closer to Him. God wants us to be filled with peace and he wants us to be refreshed. We can only get this permanently from Him, He wants us to stand strong in His word at all times.

We as Christians are tender plants. Often to our apprehension, it may seem that our spiritual life is dying and not blossoming. Perhaps we are like a little rose bud, the stalk is a little bruised and it is swaying, almost wanting to snap in two. But, when the rain comes and we stand strong, we keep our gaze on the One above, we then are restored and no longer weak. Our stalks are firm and as time continues, we then represent an oak tree. A root that springs up in a rich fertile field, owes very much to the soil in which it grows. The bible says, in 1 Peter 5:10, 'And after you have suffered a little while, the God of grace , who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.'

I always admire people that choose to shine after a storm. I always admire people that tell you that storms don't last forever, whilst they are going through an awful thunderstorm. The thing is you can't calm storms and instead of trying to, we should try and calm ourselves and trust God. The storm will pass and once it does, you will be stronger and you will be an overcomer. It is about training yourself to find the blessings in everything.

One of the verses I have clung to in the storms we have passed through is, Philippians 4:13, 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.'

Talking about rain... it has just started to fall.