Rain and Growth
We just returned from a family trip to South Carolina where rain was forecast every day. And sure enough, it did rain a little on most days. Even though the thunder and lightning made it seem like it was going to pour down rain, what we usually got was a light rain that only lasted 10-20 minutes.
Life’s problems are a little like that. They seem very threatening, and we worry that they are going to be bad, but usually they aren’t so terrible. If you think about it, in the overall scheme of life, problems are only a small part of what we experience. We experience so many other things: laughter, love, connection. It’s just that we often worry about them more than we appreciate the good times.
Also, problems also give us the opportunity to grow. They challenge us and make us examine ourselves and our lives. While attending church one day, I had the privilege of hearing Andrew Tinker singing “Nothin’ Would Grow.”
I’m including the lyrics as well as a link to the song on youtube. I think the song sums up what I mean better than anything I could write.
Enjoy!
Verse 1
You got the rain clouds
To keep the sunshine out.
It’s all right with me;
That’s what life is all about.
‘Cause if the sun shined every day
And we went our whole lives without rain,
Nothin’ would grow.
No, no, no.
Verse 2
Got the deep blue sea
Standing between you and me.
And so I left my home
For places that I’ve never seen,
But if heart break is all I find,
I don’t regret leaving the farm behind.
Nothin’ would grow.
No, no, no.
Chorus
It’s the darkness that makes the sunrise beautiful.
It’s the heartbreak that makes love burn.
And it’s the sickle that must be broken to know freedom.
And if the sun shined every day,
And we went our whole lives without rain,
Nothin’ would grow.
No, no, no.
Verse 3
I walked a desert road
With no particular place to go.
And it stretched across the nation,
And I walked it all alone.
Met a man who wanted folks to stop,
So he put his roots right there in the sidewalk.
Nothin’ would grow.
No, no, no.
Chorus
It’s the darkness that makes the sunrise beautiful.
It’s the heartbreak that makes love burn.
And it’s the sickle that must be broken to know freedom.
And if the sun shined every day,
And we went our whole lives without rain,
Nothin’ would grow.
No, no, no.
Bridge
Music
Repeat Chorus
It’s the darkness that makes the sunrise beautiful.
It’s the heartbreak that makes love burn.
And it’s the sickle that must be broken to know freedom.
And if the sun shined every day,
And we went our whole lives without rain,
Nothin’ would grow.
No, no, no.
Nothin’ would grow.
No, no, no.
YouTube link to song:
So remember the next time it rains, and it ruins your plans, or the next time a problem arises, that without this, nothing would grow. And that includes you!
Joke: Whenever I want it to rain, I just wash my car.
Quote: “Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby.” – Langston Hughes
Advice: Life’s rain storms are necessary for personal growth.