After almost two days of steady, constant rain, the sun came out this morning.

    It was so glorious. It almost took my breath away. The sun set everything to glowing. The Autumn leaves were ablaze in their reds, and shimmered in their yellows, oranges, and golds. Strong fresh gusts of wind sent the falling leaves to racing across the road and dancing through the air. The beauty, wonder, and awe of this fantastic world that God created for us was everywhere. It was like the dark, negative photograph of this Earth had finally been developed into the spectacular, color print of the Heaven it could be. It was worth sitting through two days of rain in order to rejoice in this joyous sight.

The sun of love and joy is always there just above the clouds, waiting to shine through.

    I know that in our lives we often go through a lot of rainy days before the sun comes back out. Some people, in fact, complain that their life seems like one long thunderstorm. Still, the sun of love and joy is always there just above the clouds, waiting to shine through. It is up to us,though, to look for it, find it, and then celebrate it. Often it will take a while before the rain subsides and the sun returns. Until it does, however, we can always create a little sunshine within our own souls and then share it with those standing under the umbrellas next to us. We may even strike up a chorus of “Singing in the Rain” and dance in the puddles until the weather breaks.

    The next time it starts raining in your life what are you going to do? Are you going to slump down, dwell in your lows, shiver in the cold, and complain about your life or are you going to stand up, turn your lows into highs, dance in the puddles, and sing in the rain?

    The choice is yours.

    God loves it when we rejoice in the sunny days of our lives, but God loves it even more when we learn, grow, and choose love and joy in both the sunshine and the rain.

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. (Philippians 4:4-5)