When it rains...

...we get very, very happy. Keep praying! It's been raining for a couple days now, but it's not the time to quit. It's the time to keep praying! This is a drought, and it's gonna take a lot of rain to end it. So keep praying, and hopefully God will send the rain we need.

Thinking about the rain has got me thinking about my day today. One of the things that I have not had to do a lot of since starting The River is what is called 'pastoral care.' That's when someone has a problem and they call a pastor for help. Maybe they just need to talk, need prayer for a sick relative, some basic counseling, whatever. I'm not quite sure why it's not just called 'care', but somehow since I'm a pastor it gets called 'pastoral care'.

Anyway, there hasn't been much of that in the past year. Until today. All of a sudden, folks are coming out of the woodwork. Living here, it can look like life is all happy and pretty and no one has any problems. Today it's as if the rain has washed that veneer away and the misery of life is coming to the surface. I'm glad to help these folks. I'm glad they came to me, and I'm glad they are reaching out. I wish I could help more people, and I ask you to help by praying for them.

I also hope today will be a reminder for you, as has been for me. A reminder that this community is about as nice a place to live as you'll find, and people's lives are still a mess. They are hurting, they are broken, and they are in need of help. There is plenty of ministry to be done right here to hurting people.

In an email, the director of a local service organization for kids with disabilities wrote to me about our helping at one of their events: "Good people coming together for the right reasons. Probably what Jesus had in mind. Not so many rules...just love one another." Indeed, and today has been a reminder to me that there is still a big need for that. Today, I'm going to go try and help some hurting people feel God's love. Wherever you are, I hope you will do the same.

Let it rain.