Grace Like Rain

Today is Saturday (I think), February 19, 2022, in the sixth week of Ordinary Time.

Peace be with you!

Day 23,354

The main reason for the “I think” up there is that all day yesterday, I kept thinking it was Saturday. But it couldn’t have been, because I was working in the Computer Center, and I only do that on Fridays. After being semi-retired for seven months, I can only surmise that this will not get any better, and just embrace it.

This is my Saturday to work in the circulation department, as well, so I will be at the library from 9:30-6:15 today. The weather should be nice today. It’s cold, at the moment, right at freezing, but is supposed to hit around 65 by late afternoon.

The forecast for next Wednesday and Thursday keeps shifting a little, but still remains with the likely possibility of more freezing rain and/or snow. Currently, it is showing a Tuesday night/Wednesday morning low of 29, a high Wednesday of only 30, a low Wednesday night of 27, a Thursday high of 36, and a Thursday night low of 22. Snow is predicted on Wednesday, and rain and snow on Thursday. Friday, my only full shift next week, is supposed to be partly sunny. I hope that will be the last of “winter” for us.

We have to take S to an evaluation appointment on March 22, as the SSA is requiring more validation of her disability status. This is somewhat frustrating for us, as they verified her status only three years ago. But this is a change, as she is supposed to be beginning to receive benefits from my SSA record. We have plenty of documentation, though, that we have saved over the years, that we plan to take with us.

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL AND PRAYERS

"Love one another;
This is how they know you're Mine;
Love one another."
(Inspired by John 13:34-35)

Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; 
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! 
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; 
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! 
For the LORD is a great God, 
and a great King above all gods. 
(Psalms 95:1-3 ESV)

Today I am grateful:

1. the joyful noise of songs of praise
2. for the constant reminder of the command that we are to love one another; love through me, Lord
3. for the grace of God that falls like rain on my thirsty soul
4. for the sunshine today
5. for word games (like Wordle and Dordle and Quordle and whatever comes next)

"You didn't choose me, remember; 
I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, 
fruit that won't spoil. 
As fruit bearers, whatever you ask the Father in relation to me, 
he gives you. 
"But remember the root command: Love one another."
(John 15:16-17 MSG)

"Let me give you a new command: 
Love one another. 
In the same way I loved you, you love one another. 
This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—
when they see the love you have for each other." 
(John 13:34-35 MSG)

The prayer word for today is “fall.”

My teaching, 
let it fall like a gentle rain, 
my words arrive like morning dew,
 Like a sprinkling rain on new grass, 
like spring showers on the garden. 
(Deuteronomy 32:2 MSG)

We frequently use the image of rain falling to indicate the “falling” of either God’s grace or the Holy Spirit upon us. I have always like this practice, too. Falling rain is not always a good thing, but when I’m comparing the grace of God to rain, I think of a soft spring rain, or a steady shower of rain after a long drought.

I am specifically reminded of one such instance. I don’t remember the year, but I do remember that we, in DFW, had not had any rain for something like eighty or ninety consecutive days. It was either August 19, or very close to that date, and we were at a Texas Rangers baseball game, celebrating S’s birthday. In fact, she was supposed to appear in the birthday line, on camera, between innings. A couple innings before the birthday line was to happen, it rained. And it was a good, heavy rain. As crowds of people headed for the concourse, C and I (and whoever else may have been with us) just sat there and let it drench us. It felt so good.

And that is what it feels like when the grace of God rains down on us. We want to get drenched, and we want it to spill out onto anyone who happens to be around us. This is another reason that Jesus’s commands for us to love one another are so important! How can I possibly contain the grace of God when it falls on me? If it is truly God’s grace that is falling on me, I cannot possibly be selfish; I cannot possibly treat my brother or sister with anything less than love!

"And Hallelujah, grace like rain
Falls down on me
And Hallelujah and all my stains
Are washed away, they're washed away"
(Todd Agnew, Grace Like Rain)

“God, let Your words of wisdom and hope fall on my thirsty soul and revive my spirit. Amen.” ~ “Susanna” in Pray a Word a Day

Yes, Lord, Hallelujah! Let Your grace fall like rain on my soul today, and let it splash over onto anyone who is around me. I’m praising You today for the presence, the constant presence of Your grace. I know it is always surrounding me, even when I don’t feel it, or when I am not aware of it.

I am also thankful for songs of praise, and I ask that You would revive my voice of praise to You. It has been silent for too long. I pray for wisdom for us to know when it is time to begin our Nights of Worship again. I also pray for new songs of praise to be written. Put a new song in my heart and on my tongue!

Thank You for the mild weather, this weekend, and I pray that, perhaps, the winter weather predicted will miss us. But it will be what it will be, and we will live with it, and we will still praise You, whatever comes our way.

I praise You for Your Word, this morning. I thank You for the Word that created all things, and then how that Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and lived and died for the salvation of our souls. I pray that You would help us all to seriously examine the words and deeds of Jesus, that we might mimic them, and, as He said, even do greater things in our own world, today. But first, we have to act like Him, and that kicks us back to the commands that we love one another.

All glory and praise to You, by the Son and through the Spirit.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Grace and peace, friends.