Rain.

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the mouldering past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,
And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

-The Rainy Day, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


   I love this. I love that Henry Longfellow had such insight, that he could turn rain into such a beautiful metaphor.
   I don't know about y'all, but I'm pretty sick of rain. My back yard is flooded, my front yard is flooded, and it's just about impossible to feel dry. But this poem has been on my mind a lot lately (because, you know, of all of the rain). I think it's wonderful when the rain finally stops and the sun bursts forth from the clouds. It makes you so much more grateful for the sun once you've had a lot of rain. Longfellow obviously understood that, which is what makes the metaphor in "The Rainy Day" so beautiful. As it says, some days must be dark and dreary and rain falls into every life. But the fact is, the sun is still shining as radiantly as ever behind the clouds. Once the rain stops, the sun will come out from the clouds again. It will be glorious. It will be beautiful. It makes you so much more thankful for the sun. It's like when people say you can never know true happiness if you have never experienced sadness. You can never be truly thankful for the sun if you have never had times of rain.


   That's not all the rain makes me think about, though. It also makes me think about Jesus coming back. It makes me think about Jesus coming back because in Revelation, it talks about towards the end, there will be lots of thunder and lightning, earthquakes, and things that the world has never experienced before. I've been thinking about Revelation a lot because of the storms. Every time there's a thunder storm or my back yard floods, it reminds me that we're getting closer to Jesus returning. And I cannot wait to see Him!!
   Today in church, we had a guest speaker, Morgan Jackson. As he was speaking, he mentioned that he believes some of us will not die, that Jesus will come back before that happens. How many of us are ready for that? I know people say "I want Jesus to come back" a lot, but how many of us are actually seeking after Him and the things above, where He is, constantly fixing our eyes on heaven? I don't always have my eyes on heaven, but I have had such a desire lately to become heaven-minded. I want to be so focused on heaven and on Him that I don't have time to worry about anything else. I so look forward to the day I will see my God face to face and be able to fall on my knees to worship the Holy, Almighty One who saved me from myself. Everything seems to be reminding me of Him and of heaven lately, and that's how it should be. I am so blessed. I can't wait to be with Him forever.

"For after all, the best thing one can do when it's raining is let it rain." -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created." -Revelation 4:11