I mean it! Abandon all umbrellas! You don't really need them anyway! What is a little rain going to do to you? You aren't the Wicked Witch of the West are you? You aren't going to melt if dorothy throws some water on you! At least I hope not...I, of course, do not recommend wearing fancy clothes in the rain, but I don't recommend fancy clothes period so...yeah. But back to the point! It is April, and hopefully the showers will continue to soak the thirsty ground. I say hopefully because although the rain might be a minor inconvenience to you on your way to class, it is making sure that this spring's flowers will be beautiful. That's what I want to talk to you a little bit about today: stepping out of your skin and looking at the larger picture.
It is not something that comes very easily or naturally to us. Stepping out of our self-absorbed world view and appreciating things for the greater good. See I was listening to a David Crowder Band song today, and it struck me that we don't focus on what really matters, and we just get so caught up in the minuscule details of life. Instead of even looking at the little things and appreciating them, we only see them through our individual lens of convenience.
We forget "How He [God] Loves," disregard others feelings, and get angry at God when the rain drops start offending us for falling from the over-saturated clouds. You know, not everything is a personal attack on you. How can we be this self-consumed that we don't see the greater masterpiece that is unfolding in our lives? We get to be a part of it! We should be ecstatic! We should be running through the rain praising God for allowing the flowers to come up every spring without fail!
If you really need an umbrella, fine. If you can't afford to get some rainwater on your new designer jeans, I'm okay with it. That isn't the point. Every one of you reading this knows what you're dealing with lately, and you also know that it probably isn't as big of a deal as you are making it. You, and I? We are making it a big deal. Let's not flatter ourselves. We aren't so important that the rain is a unique punishment on us from God.
Life should be lived without umbrellas.
-Dave
