I’m Walking on Sunshine — Even in the Rain
Last week my daughter and I were at Panera Bread having a great time of “girl talk”. The sun was shining brightly when we went in, but all of a sudden we could see the winds blowing fiercely, dark clouds looming and then a torrential downpour of rain came. Yay! We needed that rain! Here in Texas — it’s been a blistering hot summer, but we’ve been blessed with the occasional rain shower that has sure helped our thirsty lawns. I’ve learned not to complain about the heat, the cold or rain, because, here in Texas, it’s subject to change daily. We might as well….go with the flow!
Isn’t that like our personal “climates”, too? One day we are bright with a sunny disposition. Things are going our way — even the lights are turning green before we get to them. And, another day, it’s cloudy, rainy with thunderstorms overtaking us. The thrills of that “shout-hallelujah” victory can be overtaken by that “woe is me” agony of defeat.
It’s inevitable that there will be ups and downs in our lives. Country Music singer, Lynn Anderson, made the song “Rose Garden” famous. The lyrics were: “I beg your pardon. I never promised you a rose garden. Along with the sunshine, there’s got to be a little rain sometime.”
When we read the writings of the Apostle Paul, we might think that he and Lynn Anderson were singing the same song. Paul had plenty of suffering to talk about, but he also talked a lot about the peace of God. He was talking about a calm that comes because of God’s love for us. The calm that comes even when the storm clouds gather. Paul even had the audacity to tell us to “rejoice in our sufferings”! He said in Romans 3:3-5 “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
Are you kidding me? We’re supposed to rejoice in our sufferings — from being hospitalized because of an illness, to going through a divorce, to face bankruptcy, to dealing with a loved one’s death, to losing a job. Really? We are supposed to rejoice in those sufferings? Paul didn’t mean for us to go “Hip hip hooray! I’ve lost my job; my husband passed away; the creditors are taking my car!” No, no, no. Instead, he meant that suffering is a part of life. No matter how many times we complain that life is not fair, Paul wants us to know that suffering (a little rain) is the part of our lives that helps us grow to those hope-filled people of character and determination.
What Paul wanted so desperately for us to know, is that our God loves us so much that He promised never to leave us alone. Yes, the rain comes AND suffering comes, but with God, we’ll receive patient endurance. And patience leads to character. And character leads to hope. And hope will not disappoint us. That’s a mighty fine recipe for pulling us from the darkest of times, to the sun-shiniest times EVER. That’s when we’ll be singing “I’m walking on sunshine (whoa oh)! And don’t it feel good!”