Squishy Shoes

The day started off like any other day. I got up and did my normal routine and left for work. As I pulled out of my driveway, though, something was different. There were little droplets of rain on my windshield. "Huh?" I thought to myself. "I guess the Lord wants to bless my yard and the farmers with a little drink this morning. Thank You, Jesus, for a little rain!" But as I continued to drive - the droplets got bigger. And they began to fall at a more rapid rate. Pretty soon it was a downright downpour… My windshield wipers were doing their best to keep up. Now I said to myself, "Self… I hope this dies down before I get to work…"

But to my great dismay it did not die down when I got to work. It actually picked up even more! But now the wind was blowing sideways. I thought about sitting in my truck to wait out the rain - but I had stuff to get done and people coming in soon - so I sucked it up and went for it. But as I opened the door I noticed that the parking lot, the road, and sidewalk were all one giant puddle. It was inevitable now… I was going to have squishy shoes. You know when you go to a theme park and you foolishly ride the log ride, or tidal wave and you spend the rest of the day with wet socks and wet shoes? Yeah - that's what I was experiencing. Squishy shoes…

But as I ran through the ginormous puddle, splashing water up my jeans with every leap, I finally reached the door. And I was soaked to the bone! I had taken 2 showers in less than 30 minutes. But I wasn't overly upset. It was just water after all and I wasn't going to melt. (My wife will tell you I'm definitely not made of sugar!) But as I was standing there in my squishy shoes in our church atrium I couldn't help but notice how I felt. I felt strangely energized. My heart rate was up. My mind was really churning. I was functioning at a better pace.

God uses rain to make things grow and we all need H2O to keep us healthy. Our world and our bodies are made up primarily of water - so it makes sense to me that God could use it for different things. Today - it was just the splash of cold water I needed to get me awake and ready to serve Him better. Even if it did give me squishy shoes… So the next time it rains on your life - don't necessarily go reaching for your rain coat or umbrella. God may be providing you with a storm to wake you up so that you'll serve Him all the better!