Spring Rain

"Come let us return to the LORD.
He has torn us to pieces
but he will heal us;
he has injured us
but he will bind up our wounds.
After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will restore us,
that we may live in his presence.

Let us acknowledge the LORD;
let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises,
he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,
like the spring rains that water the earth."
hosea 6:1-3

i have thought about these verses several times this week. We got a little rain up here but not as much as I would like. This verse is so fitting for Spring time it seems. The winter and life can often leave me feeling wounded or cracked and dry but there is hope with Spring somehow.

when the first real rain of the spring comes it has this ability to somehow wash away the memories of winter and the grime and dirt that accompanies it. there is something so beautiful about rain. the sound of it outside my window or on the roof of a cabin at camp, the feel of it falling on my face, the smell of the world after it rains and the freshness and new life is brings, the way it can soften a summer day and calm the dust that the dry heat can bring. it is such a gift.

It seems that after a winter we are all in need of refreshment, all in need of a fresh start. To get a chance to try it once more, to put things behind us and embrace the new moment that is now. We're all in need of a little more hope, of something to look forward to, of some warm sunlight on our face, for a game of ultimate frisbee outside in a park, or a bbq, or warm summer nights sitting by a campfire, of going to the beach, allowing the warm wind to blow on our face while we lie in the grass, or sharing secrets with someone while wrapped in a blanket watching the prairie starlit sky, sitting by a still lake in the moonlight, or catching fireflies dance about (i hope to see that at somepoint in my life). are you picking up what I'm putting down here?

there is the hope of new things ahead, and the world will be reborn infront of our eyes in the next little bit. God does promise to come to you like the fresh spring rain that waters the earth. and so that does not necessarily mean that everything will be peachy keen....but I think it does mean that new life will come in our lives, new little things will begin to grow. the winter might have left you deeply wounded or lost or alone but do try to open your eyes and look for the beautiful things around you in this fallen world. beauty can often be right there with sadness, and somehow it is easy to only see the sadness and miss the beauty. i want to be someone who sees everything in this world, who does not shy from the pain but who also chooses to see the beautiful things too. like rain in the Spring.