Purpose for the rain and pain... thoughts of a lazy Saturday afternoon

So the long week is over, and Saturday was a very lazy day for me. Which was just fine.... I actually fell asleep on my bed, reading a book, in the middle of the afternoon. And I went for a walk today, which I do a lot now - the area is really pretty and really safe, and its nice to walk around. And, as a point of interest, there are 14 streets in the IMMEDIATE area named after presidents. I live on Buchanan street, for instance. Just in case anyone cared.

About 10 minutes into my walk, it started to rain, and I took shelter in a church. You could say I found sanctuary in a sanctuary, but that would be corny. Like me.

ANYWAY, it was a Lutheran church, and I'd never been in before, because its a WELS church, and I basically think that they're insane conservatives who need a swift kick in the theological butt. But I was in flip flops, and I was having a good hair day, so I went inside.

And they had a grand piano. Enough said.

I met the pastor, and he seemed like a very nice man for someone who holds crazy beliefs about women in ministry. *I was so tempted to dash onto the altar and start dancing... I don't know what they would have had to do to purify it from such desecration, but it DID run through my mind...* Anywho, I played the piano for a little while, and then decided to walk home in the rain.

I really don't mind rain. We treat it as such an inconvenience, but its necessary for things to grow and live, and for us to enjoy all of the other things in life we love.

And as I walked home, I got thinking about how pain is the same way. We all think of pain as something to be avoided at all costs, as something horrible and even pointless. But pain actually helps us to grow as people. There is always a purpose for the pain, though we often don't see it while we are at our lowest points. In my case, I think its taken me years to find a purpose for the pain I've gone through, and I've so often cursed the very things that have brought me to where I am today.

And without delving into the whole story, I can say that I am happier right here, right now, than I have been in years anywhere else. Certainly, I have had periods of contentment over the course of the past years. But I have not known such peace and fulfillment, and joy and hope and growth - ever. And without having experienced all of the things that have hurt me so badly and made me so unhappy - I literally would never have made my way to the seminar which introduced me to Tammy Borden. And had I not met Tammy, I never would have hooked up with Life! Promotions. And I wouldn't be here now.

This entry doesn't really have a purpose, exactly. Except to kind of write about what's been on my heart and mind. And there is SO much more that I could write about. About Transformation, about surrender, about living vertically so that horizontal relationships are meaningful and loving. About faithfulness - mine and God's. But church is early in the morning tomorrow, and I will be going.

*next time I will write about the young adult ministry I attended the other evening "Crossings" - It was GREAT*

But for now, I just hope you are able to look for the purpose behind any pain you are or have experienced, and know that you are a work in progress. God isn't finished with any of us yet. Amen to that!