Dried Up and Broken

"It is God who takes water from the earth and turns it into drops of rain. He lets the rain pour from the clouds in showers for all human beings. No one knows how the clouds move or how the thunder roars through the sky, where God dwells. He sends lightning through all the sky, but the depths of the sea remain dark. This is how he feeds the people and provides an abundance of food. He seizes the lightning with his hands and commands it to hit the mark. Thunder announces the approaching storm, and the cattle know it is coming."~Job 36:27-33 GNT



The thunder and lightening last night brought about some much needed rain in our near drought stricken area. The crops and vegetation of all kinds were truly suffering, and rain was desperately needed. Our yard was scorched looking like a dried out cut hay field in late August. The weather forecasters gave small chance for anything but spotty rain, but somehow we were blessed to receive the rain that the plants needed to sustain life. 


When we awoke this morning, there were new signs of life all around our yard. Every plant in the garden seemed to be standing a little taller and looked so much healthier than the night before. Patches of green in the lawn seemed to be surfacing everywhere. Rain is something we count on, but in reality we can't make it rain. We can pray and wish for rain, but we just can't make it rain. Honestly, we have no control over it.


As I walked around the yard this morning, I thought about those moments in our own lives that we can sometimes feel all dried up and broken like the grass beneath my feet. We can't wish that feeling away. We can pray and wait patiently for direction in how to move forward because sometimes we aren't able do it on our own. Moving forward is what we want to do, but we are stricken with the suffering, and it's taken all our power and energy away.


Often times in our lives, we find that God sends just what or who we need to survive the emotional and sometimes spiritual drought we are experiencing. When we pray for help, we give all our worries and needs over to God. It's what happens next that is like the rain that saves the plants in the drought. Sometimes, it's the friend who calls out of the blue, the friend who sends a note of encouragement, the friend that calls and needs your help, or maybe it's the friend that loves you too much to let you suffer alone. Strangers appear in our lives that seem to come from nowhere that touch us in a way that changes us. Being loved and needed are ways that God sends life saving CPR (Caring People Resources) right smack into our lives like a shower of rain in a drought. 


I've been through some of those droughts, and I can honestly say that I have felt like that grass in our yard as I wondered how I was going to keep going. But, through prayer, God continues to send showers of CPR (Caring People Resources) to breathe new life into me at just the right time. He sent a spouse that sends showers of faith and unconditional love into my everyday life. Stretching me into more communities of people is often painful since I'm more of an introvert, but I've been blessed abundantly by the people I've met and what they have taught me about them and about me.


Like Job alluded to in the scripture above, we all know there are things about this world that only God knows. God's wisdom is beyond our comprehension, and He has created a world that is amazing in so many ways. He doesn't have back up plans; He always has a foolproof plan in place.  Dried up and broken is not where we want to find ourselves, but when we are, how refreshing is it that God sends exactly what or who we need into our lives to restore and rejuvenate us? Yes, that much needed rain comes in one form or another when all seems hopeless, and in an instant, new life is breathed into us. 


Heavenly Father,


Thank you for knowing our hearts and minds in ways that are hard for us to comprehend. We give thanks that you send refreshing showers of CPR (Caring People Resources) into our lives during those moments of emotional drought and brokenness. We give thanks and praise for the abundant gifts and blessings that you provide for us.


Amen