Rain, Rain - Don't Go Away

This past Thursday we received the joyful news that Bobby is free of cancer. To celebrate, Bobby, my brother-in-law Nate, and I decided to go camping for the weekend at nearby Magnolia Springs State Park. Bobby had wanted to go camping for a while, so this made him very happy. After buying a bunch of mostly unhealthy food and packing up camping equipment, we traveled to the park on Friday afternoon.

Note to self: Always check the weather forecast before leaving on a camping trip. Especially look out for tropical storms that may be heading straight for your tent.

Prior to this weekend, it had not rained significantly in southeast Georgia in several months. It has been so dry that about 100 miles SW of here forest fires have been burning out of control for weeks. In light of this, I did not even think of checking on the weather. My mistake. Little did I know that Tropical Storm Barry was moving out of the Gulf of Mexico and heading up through Georgia.

Why was Barry there? I have to think that this storm was a direct answer to prayer. Churches in at least Georgia and Florida have been asking God for rain for some time. God delivered in a big way this weekend. Places in the two states that had not seen much rain in a while received inches of rain with this one storm.

While we were stuck lying in our tent at the campsite with little to do, it was tempting to begin complaining. After all, we had made all of the preparations for this trip, and then we could not really enjoy it: no canoing, no hiking, no campfires, and no smores. We even ended up returning home on Saturday afternoon because the wind and rain kept increasing.

Complaining would be the typical American answer in this situation. However, we did not give in to this for several reasons. First, scripture tells us not to complain (see here). Second, the rain seemed to be a clear answer to prayer. Third, we must trust God's hand at all times knowing that His will is best, and that He can see all of the big picture in a way we cannot.

So, even though our trip was a washout, we thank the Lord for the rain, and say, "Rain, rain - don't go away!"