My favorite part of a good soaking rain is how green everything looks once it clears up. I remember a couple years ago, our winter had so much rain that in the spring we had a Superbloom, where one could see all the flowers blooming from space! It was really a cool sight to see.

This year, we had a very mild Winter, and it got me thinking about how that’s affecting the Spring’s new growth. It also made me worried about the inevitable drought coming this Summer.

Watching the seasons change, even the minor ones in Southern California, always makes me think about the seasons of life. We all hope for perpetual sunny days, full of good things. None of us would choose the storms of life we end up having to manage, and certainly we would shorten their duration if we could. But growth requires rain, as it is the storms of life which equip us with the tools to grow into holistic persons. Without such storms, we find ourselves ill-equipped to handle the heat that tests our character, and like the parched ground, we are quickly overwhelmed. This dryness leads to Fire season, where we feel out of control and unable to cope with what is happening around us.

That is not to say that all storms move us into wholeness. I remember seasons that felt like floods, where my entire foundation was swept away in a muddy, raging river I was being swirled around in, my feet unable to reach the bottom. For those in a Fire or Flood season, there is healing that needs to take place before growth. Sometimes, that looks like self equipment/personal development, and others it looks like deep processing with God of the great loss conditions outside of your control caused. Grace is abundantly yours in this season, and no matter what it may look like, it is not the end of your life. Things will not always be this way. For those managing rainy days, where things are less than ideal and you can feel the pressure of your conditions all the way into your joints, it is my hope you notice the sweet, verdant growth that you are developing.