Sometimes it rains, sometimes it pours, but the Sun is Always Shining!

When I heard the thunder today my heart jumped! I grew up loving thunderstorms because in the midwest, storms are so animated and intense. There, the lightening lights up the entire ominous black sky with purple flashes as it pours buckets from the sky flooding the streets in minutes. I had great expectations when I hopped in my car to get a better view of this developing storm. Although I was disappointed with the complete lack of fireworks, I did learn something very interesting.

In Chicago, the landscape is completely flat. When storms roll in, it completely blackens the sky with a sheet of violent, tumultuous rainclouds. Here, there is a wide variety in the landscape that allows the clouds to develop with a ton of variation. This pocket of air rises over this hill and another gets swept into the canyon creating a collage of cloud densities and shades. Although it was pouring on my car, I was looking into the sunlight. I realized that even when it is raining, the Sun is still shining. When it is pouring on our lives, the Sun is shines brightly above us. When it has been overcast for weeks and we just can't seem to get out of the dim light and into full daylight, the Sun is still shining - working it's hardest to break through the clouds. The clouds can't last forever. We just can't see the Sun at the moment because of our perspective and our position. We can all have the faith that at some point, the Sun will break through the clouds, dispelling darkness and drying up the dismal tears of our lives. Eventually we will find ourselves in the warm, comforting sunlight again. What we do with the rain is our choice.

Where I watched the storm there were many birds. Most of them settled into the grass or bushes in groups to wait out the storm. A few others decided that they would procrastinate seeking cover and continued in the open. When it really started pelting rain, those birds aggressively darted from place to place looking for a dry spot but they were wet and the ground was wet. They wore themselves out looking for something better. If only they had waited out the storm in quiet peace instead of scurrying about in a frenzy.

I have watched many thunderstorms, but today was the first time I thought about the Sun that was still shining above the storm. It adds a new perspective about the storms in our own lives. Sometimes it rains, sometimes it pours, sometimes it's overcast or a hurricane or a tornado or hailing - but the Sun is still shining. Eventually we will step out of the darkness and into the light that has been shining all along.