Conviction from a 14 year old

So, my daughter, Allison, is job shadowing me today. We've had great fun... until just a few minutes ago.

She was reading over my shoulder and noticed a quote I have with my signature on my personal email account. It reads "Life isn't about waiting for the storms to pass, life is about learning to dance in the rain." She gave me a hard time because this morning while doing the weather I complained about the constant rain. Then she asked me... "why are you complaining so much about the rain when you have this on your email?" Great fun having to explain your shortcomings to a 14 year old who is apparently smarter than you.

Allison is right. I do complain about the rain a lot. But not just about the physical rain, I complain about the rain in my life. The trials, the frustrations, the inconveniences, and the heartbreaks. I complain about having to wait on God, having to trust God, having to step out in faith. I want God to make all the difficult parts of life disappear so that every day will be "sunny". But blue skies and sunshine teach us nothing about growing and trusting in God.

So, once again, I am humbled. And reminded that life really isn't about just hanging in there through the difficult times waiting for the storm to pass. Jesus said that He came to give us life more abundantly. And I truly believe we can have abundant life even in the midst of the storm, if we'll just take the time to dance.