I've been the busiest I can ever recall being this past year,
and I'd definitely not had much time for self-reflection.
Thanksgiving crept upon me much quicker than I had anticipated,
and even with all the planning being done for Thanksgiving festivities,
my heart desired time to simply stop everything and be still...
so that I could truly give thanks.
And I'll have to admit, Thanksgiving Day came and went,
and though my heart was full of gladness and thanksgiving,
I don't think it would've been possible without the Tuesday before.
We opened Kraze Burgers to the public on Tuesday, and therefore, despite the rain,
I had driven out to Bethesda by myself. The drive there? Not bad, 30 minutes.
The drive back? Let's just say it took me over three times that amount of time,
and it was stop and go all the way back with close to zero visibility due to the rain and fog.
At first, my initial reaction was yes...unhappy. I was not grateful for the situation.
Anyone that knows me well enough knows that I am not fond of driving.
I do not like driving in the rain, in unfamiliar territory, for an extended period of time...
the list goes on. And most of all, I have a phobia of car accidents.
So there I was, unhappy, fearful, worried and frustrated, and as I was listening to the radio
with the traffic report...telling of accident after accident, I realized...
I could've been any one of those accidents on the report...
and that I could be the next.
But instead of being filled with fear, I was filled with an intense thanksgiving as I was able
to realize and acknowledge God's grace and mercy through the situation.
I realized that it would make sense for me to get into an accident.
That essentially, it would be "fair" for me to be in an accident.
It was only by God's grace, his protection, his mercy, and his goodness that I was not.
That every day, I should die, but that every day, He continues to choose to save me.
And of course, just as I had this epiphany, the radio began playing MercyMe's Bring the Rain.
Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain
I am Yours regardless of
The dark clouds that may loom above
Because You are much greater than my pain
You who made a way for me
By suffering Your destiny
So tell me what's a little rain...
I had been so preoccupied with the rain, so worried, so discouraged, so fearful...
but by the end of this song, I can tell you I was empowered, grateful,
and immensely blessed by the rain that pointed me to the cross.
And though I still had an hour's drive in the rain, I spent it with a thankful heart.
God is good. Really, he is so good. So faithful-- even though I am not, and I fall so short...
and so how could I not be thankful?
And if it's a thousand drives in the rain that is needed to remind me to be thankful...
then, Jesus, bring the rain. :)
