Sunlight and Rain

We also boast in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. —Romans 5:3–4

If we could sit on a sunny patio and chat, I’d ask, “What’s the best part and worst part of this season of your life?”

What would you say? What’s making your life painfully difficult right now? And what’s making it beautiful and sweet?

We might shed a few tears together as you answer. Or maybe I’d laugh with joy as you describe a long-awaited hope fulfilled. Most likely, though, we’d do a little of both. As Elisabeth Elliot wrote, “Rainbows are made of sunlight and rain.” ¹

Considering this truth, here’s something I’m reminding myself these days: this season of life is a gift. The precious and the painful are entwined by gracious hands that never stop doing us good. The very thing that brings us to our knees, makes us weep in despair, or feels like our undoing is an integral part of the gift of this season. In His time, we will see that our desperation was the beginning of our deliverance.

¹ Elisabeth Elliot, Passion and Purity: Learning to Bring Your Love Life Under Christ’s Control (Revell, 2002), 52.

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 “Every Season Is a Gift” (Colleen Chao,  ReviveOurHearts.com/blog)

Scripture taken from The CSB