I have two dogs. One loves to go outside when it is raining. The other thinks the first is nuts. He does not want to go near the door when it's raining! He'd get wet! He'd get cold! His paws would get muddy! Yuck! And worse of all, he might not be able to come back inside!
But his sister loves it. The cold! The wet! The mud! And the best part is coming back into the house, getting right next to the people she loves and shaking with all her might. Now we can all share the rain!
When we sang,”Alleluia! Grace, like rain, is falling down on me!”* in church one day and I it was all I could do to not laugh out loud as God reminded me of my dogs.
I am so like the second dog. Let me stay where it is dry, where it is warm and where it is comfortable, thank you very much!
But if I am going to experience the joy of standing in a shower of God's grace, I have to be willing to get wet. When I think back to times when the grace of the Lord was most precious to me, it was in times of discomfort. I can only guess at how I have limited God's blessings by insisting I stay warm and dry!
Then, after I get good and wet, I need to share! I need to come in from the rain, get close to people and shake with all my might! Another song says,” the thing I find most amazing in amazing grace is the chance to give it out “**. I used to think that I needed to tightly hold on to each and every drop of God's grace, but at least half of the joy comes in splashing it on those around me.
And notice one more thing. I need to have the confidence that God won't allow me to get stuck in the discomfort. The dog who is hesitant to go out in foul weather came from a home where the door wasn't opened at his request. Once out, he had to be prepared to stay out for any length of time.
God's door is always open to me. I have the assurance that even wet and muddy, God will be near me. And if I dare get close to those He puts in my path, they may just find drops of grace in my footprints.**
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