Best Quiet Time - Returning from Africa Category: Travel Places Views: 227
I had the best quiet time at the end of the trip at the hotel in Atlanta. It was pouring rain outside, and everyone was either in their rooms, swimming, or in the exercise room. We had just finished out our team meeting, and there was much tension in the group. People had mixed feelings about going back home, and much was kept silent. I had never seen or felt so much disunity in our group. Nothing really got resolved at the meeting, except what we were going to share with the other teams at debrief that night. When everyone split off into their groups, I stayed in the dining room, just pondering thoughts. It was troubling for a while, but then I realized something, it was quiet, there in that dining room. The only sound came from the rain pouring down outside. I’ve always thought the rain to be a peaceful sound. There wasn’t a single day that it had rained in Swaziland, so hearing it that day came as a shock to me. All month I felt like I couldn’t be alone with God, I couldn’t just spend time with Him, listening to Him. That was until that day. I was sitting by the window, watching the rain. The Lord then started to reveal things to me. How easily we praise God for sunny days, and we call those days beautiful. We open up the blinds and desire to be outside. We take much joy in those days. But when it’s cloudy and rainy, we cover our heads, run inside, and close the blinds, not wanting to look at such a gloomy day. We never call such a day “beautiful.” As I was looking out the window I noticed something, apart from the cement streets, planes taking off, cars speeding down the road, and tall buildings, I noticed these flowers by the parking lot. They were absolutely beautiful. The rain was pouring down on them, and I realized, had it not been for the rain, those flowers would never grow. The rain drenched the flowers, but did not drown them. I started to think about the song “Praise You in This Storm” by Casting Crowns. I thought about all the trials that God was leading me through in my life, all the storms I’ve faced and am currently facing. There’s a reason that we have to face storms, it’s so that we can grow, just like the flowers. God is good, and works all things together for good. He uses storms to conform us to the image of His son. He will not cause you to drown. He will never leave nor forsake you. Do you see the beauty in the storm? Can you stand in the middle of a storm and praise God?
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