Abigail grabbed her mug of hot coffee and walked to the window. She wrapped both her hands around the textured ceramic that carried warmth to her fingers, and allowed her gaze to fall to the ground outside. The cracks in the dry and dusty mud spread out and converged like a complicated highway system. Every morning Abigail walked to that window and looked down, and every morning the ground was as desolate as her hope for the rain that she prayed for. Not a drop for the past two years, and she felt a deep fear over how long it would prevent them from growing what they needed to survive. The drought was impacting their home, their lives, and their dreams.
Abigail watched as her neighbors pulled the field equipment out of storage, changing oil and making sure it was in satisfactory running condition. She snorted and turned away from the window. She resented their optimism. Their hope. She spent the day laying on her couch, depressed, and feeling her strength to pray for the rain failing her. She couldn’t do it any longer. She had to face the fact that the life she thought they would have was no longer possible, and it was time to move on.
Early into the evening, Abigail startled when the doorbell rang. She had barely opened the door when a plate of fresh chocolate chip cookies was thrust into her face. Behind the plate was her neighbor’s glowing face, beaming with joy.
“Oh, uh, thanks, Mary.” Abigail managed to turn the corners of her mouth up ever so slightly.
“I know they’re your favorite! And I thought what better to celebrate with than your favorite cookies!”
“Celebrate what?” Abigail said as she cocked her head to the side.
“The rain, silly!” pointing up dramatically.
Abigail’s face fell in disappointment as she held the palm of her hand open, feeling nothing and looking plainly at Mary. “Oh, Mary, why would you say something so discouraging?”
Mary scrunched up her face. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about, but maybe you should try looking up.”
Abigail lowered her hand and lifted her eyes to the sky. Clouds were rolling in as far as she could see. They were dark and beautiful. The kind that carried the hope of their future.
***
Are you praying for rain? Maybe that rain is a new job, a baby, financial freedom, or healing. Regardless of what it is, don’t lose hope because you’re focused only on the evidence of the drought you feel stuck in. Lift your eyes and look for evidence of what’s to come. Look for the clouds that bring His rain. They might be small at first, but they will build over time. God longs for us to have an expectant heart when it comes to His blessings. He is the only One capable of doing immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20-21), so there is always a reason to hope. So, instead of looking down, try looking up. Look for Him. Expect Him.
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:18-19
Be Blessed,
Caroline