If you are anything like me you don’t like rainy days. I love days where it’s bright, beautiful, the birds are chirping and I can sit outside in a tank top or a long sleeve jacket. Mild weather is my jam.
I live in Charlotte, North Carolina. It’s known for having pretty mild weather but the last few months we have had a crazy amount of rain. We haven’t gone a week without a day of rain in a very long time. We are literally catching up to Seattle.
I think the funniest thing is that I felt this whole year that I have been going through a metaphorical rainy season in my life. It’s been dark, gloomy and a downpour of weird things. The past 2 years of my life have been filled with emotions, breakups, hard conversations, job stuff, living situations and more discomfort than any point in my life before. It’s been one thing after the other and I swear it’s all correlated to the rain.
Over these months the thing I’ve come to appreciate about the rain is how GREEN it makes everything. At first, you don’t notice it but after a while of consistent rain everything becomes so lush and bright and things start to grow.
You have to have rain to grow. Otherwise, you are cactus in a desert. That correlates to the spiritual as well. You have to have rain in your life (hard times and things) otherwise you are an invincible, prickly plant that no one can even touch.
So what do you do when you feel like you are in an extremely rainy or dry spiritual season to grow?
Here are some things I’ve learned over the past few years that despite the extreme climates have helped me grow and keep a (semi) positive attitude …
• Get a counsellor.
And be SUPER honest and unfiltered with them. Sometimes it’s just good to have a place to verbally process in an unfiltered way.
• Find an encouraging voice.
Find a good podcast, speaker, or YouTube channel that you can listen to that inspires you and can identify with where you are at. I love the Belonging Co, Mosaic, and Bethel. I rotate all of them on the regular.
• Stay in the word.
Whether or not you feel it, KEEP reading every day. No matter what, just do it.
• Worship.
Find worship nights, listen to worship music. Really listen to the words and believe what they say and declare them over your life.
• Find a prayer partner.
One of the best things that ever happened to me is that my job (I work at a church) partnered me with an 85-year-old prayer partner named Dede. She prays for me every day and gives me spiritual guidance and direction whenever I feel like I need it. She has been a lifesaver and a voice of reason.
• Be vulnerable with your friends when you just aren’t feeling it.
Make sure you share your process and EXACTLY where you are at with some trusted friends so they can partner with you and check in on you in the process.
• Pray, pray, pray.
If you are upset or angry one of the first things we tend to do is stop communicating with God. Don’t stop! Keep praying. Yell, scream, cry, cuss, whatever you need to do— share it all with God and ask him to meet you where you are at.
• Journal.
I process where I am at every morning first thing while I’m drinking coffee and get it all out on paper. I feel like it clears my mind of some clutter and helps me identify where I’m at for the day. It’s also fun to go back and see where you were in your past. It’s cool to document it all.
So whether you are in a rainy, hard, dark season or in a really good, bright, hopeful season, it’s important to practice all of these things. Developing disciplines in these areas when things are good has allowed me to continue them and be disciplined when things have gotten hard. Hopefully, this helps someone grow no matter what season you are in. xoxo
Wild Hearts 