Unshackled Moments ~ September 10 ~ Racing The Rain

There are thunderstorms cutting loose in my area at the moment. I just got in from work, and as I pulled out on my motorcycle to head home I got a good look at what the trees had been blocking from the work site. Nasty looking black and grey clouds in the direction that I had to go. I don't like to ride the motorcycle in the rain, especially in a thunderstorm. If I'm not prepared for it, i.e. packing rain gear, it's quite uncomfortable. The drops feel like needles at any decent speed, and it only takes a second to get completely soaked. I have a fairing (windshield) on my bike, and it's great for keeping rocks and bugs from hitting me in the face. It sucks for rain though. It does nothing to keep the rain from hitting you, but it does make it nearly impossible to see. Got through a thunderstorm with no windshield wipers, and you get the idea. So you have to stick your face around the edge to see where you're going, but even that doesn't help much, because I wear glasses now. Not to mention the windshield catches the strong storm winds and acts like a sail whipping me around and making me fight to stay in my lane, if I can see my lane. Basically, it sucks. It's miserably uncomfortable and dangerous. So I raced the rain. I prayed and gunned it, staying just ahead of the rain I could see falling in the not so far distance behind me. I made it today. It started raining on me as I pulled into the drive, and I said a prayer of gratitude and hurried to feed the dogs. It struck me though that all too often we respond to life the same way. We see the storm clouds on the horizon and feel the increasing force of the wind and run for cover, praying we make it to shelter before it hits. Sometimes those prayers are answered. Sometimes though we need to go through the storm to get to where we need to be.Regardless, if fear sets in and we feel the need to race the rain, to beat the oncoming storm or get out of it as quickly as possible, let's remember where we need to run to. God is our shelter and our refuge. We need to always race toward Him, and remember if He calls us to go through the storm, we can trust Him to keep us.