Faith in rain

There are many things I remember about my childhood. Perhaps the moments spent riding dusty dirt roads with my dad are among the most vivid. He farmed tobacco for a living and, to this day, his hands are calloused from the labor. The work was hard and breaking even was harder. While times weren't always easy, they were filled with happiness-- happiness which can largely be contributed to a daughter who revered her father and a dad who taught her to smile in any circumstance. I can still smell the sweet aroma of tobacco drying in the tin barns, I can hear the sound of an old country anthem humming from the speakers of my father's Ford pick-up truck and I still feel hopeful at the sight of rain. In a rural county like Madison, rain represents the prosperity which comes from healthy crops and happy farm families. The sentiment isn't much different in the Bible; God's people have learned time and time again that we must trust He will provide-- that he will send the rain which will restore our land. The Bible speaks of many famines throughout its contents. From the famine which plagued Egypt in the time of Joseph, to the three years without rain in the days of the evil king, Ahab, and God's prophet, Elijah. Through every circumstance God proved His might-- He showed His people, who had strayed so far from Him, that He had the power to take away and the power to restore. According to Job 28, known as “God's Hymn to Wisdom,” true wisdom is fearing the Lord-- understanding His capabilities and following His commands. Job 28:25-26, says: For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. When God fixed the weight of the wind and limited the water by measure, when He established a limit for the rain and a path for the lightning... Understanding that God is the ultimate provider is some of the best wisdom we could ever obtain; especially when times become difficult. If there's one thing I learned growing up as the daughter of a farmer and a Madison County native, it's exercising faith-- faith that God will provide, even when it seems as though all is lost. What's more, I learned to simply be happy-- rain or famine. Through swinging my feet to the beat of a Tom. T. Hall song while my Dad sang along, to dancing around the living room with a grandmother who still managed to laugh despite the many setbacks and losses in her life, I experienced the love of a Savior who provided me with enough happiness to last a lifetime. In conclusion, when in drought, all any of us need do is look into the Heavens. Like Elijah said to Ahab in I Kings, “Go eat and drink, for there is the sound of a rainstorm.”