The rain in Spain falls mainly in Washington!

     You would think so if you lived here.  Rain is more common than sunshine for many months of the year.  What has that to do with the Christian walk?  Lots!  Living here in Washington the rain interacts with much of life.  It affects almost all of the seasons and is ever present from fall through spring.  The rain affects how people drive, what they do outside their homes and umbrella sales go through the roof.  The rain is necessary though and most of the residents here as well as other areas know that we need the rain for our continued living.  It's a non-negotiable item in living.  Like the air we breathe, we need the underground water and above ground water which is replenished by the very rain we tend to despise.  There is nevertheless a reason for rain.  Similarly there is a need for the forgiveness of God in order for us to be able to be saved from the elements, the world, and the pitfalls that are life.  The cleansing of those who believe is as constant of the rain falling.  That cleansing is called grace and we don't deserve it.  We are blessed with the work of Jesus rising from the dead so that we too can be resurrected.  Without this work, there would be no resurrection to live with Jesus.  Love that rain!
     I'm an outdoor guy.  Love to be outside fixing, planting, building, and exploring.  I recently took a drive to Oregon where they have ample rain as well.  It was a sunny/cloudy day and rain was waiting just around the corner.  I happened to spy a barn on my way to pick up some items.  When I had picked them up I came back the same way and stopped at the old barn.  No one seemed to be around so I began taking pictures of the barn.  It was fascinating!  The rain had brought down much of the structure but the main structure inside was an old log cabin!  

     Our lives are worn over the years like the barn and the rain isn't the only one that wears the exterior of our lives and interior of our souls.  The wind, snow, hail, and of course the sunshine wears or weathers all of us.  We may end up with a new looking barn if we don't do anything with our lives.  The gentleman who owned the property came out to talk.  He told me that the barn was an original log cabin and took me inside to show me.  Indeed there was the inner structure.  The Barn had been put up on and around the cabin which had been built in the early 1800's.  The analogy that struck me was how we put on Christ and that change is permanent.  The old structure is covered with the blood of Christ and has weathered the storm.  The aging of the barn is similar to the aging we go through.  We too are battered by the things life throws at us.  We too are worn down over the years.  One day the barn will decay into the earth it sits upon.  One day we will as well.  The barn has a rich history and so do we.  It stands as a sentinel for time past present and future. 
     Whatever happens to and about us is bound to change us from one stage to another over time.  Weathering the storms of life is vital both as an example to others but also as a means of getting through life.  We know that we will be changed in the twinkling of an eye (1/1000th of a nano second).  That's a fact we can rely on.  Whether we get to go by way of rapture or death, the goal is the same.  That is to be with Jesus.  Remember that it's always your choice.