Let it Rain

Yesterday, I came across a post where someone prominent in today’s political world said, “We should vent more and air our grievances to one another.”
Another well-known figure disagreed, and it sparked a firestorm of opinions in the comment section. I added my two cents, commenting that there is something to be said about speaking things into reality — but then I continued scrolling, mindlessly taking in more content until I eventually set my phone down and went to sleep.

But God wasn’t done speaking.

At 2:30 a.m., I woke up with a whirlwind of random thoughts — but they weren’t random at all.  God began reminding me how much power our perspective and our words truly have.

When I was a child, my friends and I would play outside in the rain for hours.
No umbrellas. No complaints.  Our hair was plastered to our heads, our clothes were drenched, and yet we laughed until our stomachs hurt. 
The rain was not an inconvenience — it was a playground.

Now, as an adult, I still don’t mind the rain much. I rarely even carry an umbrella.
Yet, if you listen closely, you’ll catch me grumbling here and there:
"I just washed my car."
"People can’t drive when it rains."
"My dogs are going to track mud all through the house."

Isn’t it funny how easily we speak negativity without even realizing it?
We forget that the rain — not the storm, but the gentle, steady rain — brings life.
It nourishes the soil. It fills the rivers. It washes away the dust and pollen of yesterday.
Yet so often, instead of seeing the rain as a gift, we speak it out as a burden.

Our words matter.
Proverbs 18:21 tells us, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits."
Every time we open our mouths, we are either planting seeds of life or scattering seeds of death.  

What we say reveals how we choose to see.
Rain can be life-giving or it can be a nuisance — it all depends on the lens through which we view it.
In the same way, the "rain" that falls in our lives — those inconveniences, those changes in plans, those unexpected moments — can either lead to growth or to grumbling.
The choice is ours.

Jesus said in Luke 6:45, "The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks."
In other words, what we fill ourselves with — gratitude or complaint, hope or despair — will eventually overflow into the world around us.

Instead of venting and airing every grievance, maybe it’s time we become people who speak life. 
People who say, "Thank You, Lord, for the rain," even when our plans get messy.
People who remind one another that God is good, even when the skies are gray.

There’s a song by Brand Lake called "Gratitude" that says:
"So I throw up my hands
And praise You again and again
'Cause all that I have is a hallelujah."

Maybe today, instead of complaining about the rain — or the world, or the traffic, or the dogs tracking in mud — we lift up a hallelujah.
Maybe today, we choose to see the rain for what it really is: a sign that God is still watering the earth... and still watering us.

The next time you’re tempted to speak negatively, remember:
You’re either cultivating a garden of gratitude or a wasteland of complaint.
Choose your seeds carefully.
Speak Life.

And don’t be afraid to dance in the rain.