It all started while on a walk.  Here in Michigan, we have had an unusual amount of warm sunny days in the beginning of January.  It has been rejuvenating as well as encouraging as many January days are down-right dreary.  For a long time, I have felt like I needed to walk on a regular basis, and with all I learned at Mayo Clinic, I really do!  With the unexpected burst of warm weather and a bundle of energy in an eleven-month-old puppy, I recently committed myself to going for a morning walk.  This day, I was out the door as the sun was rising, hidden behind a large ceiling of gray, raindrop-filled clouds that seemed to hang low.  The street lights continued to shine despite the coming of morning, and the rain gently fell from the sky.  All I needed was a light rain coat and out the door we went.

Sometime in early December, I had noticed that a few of the trees still had their fruit on them.  It had fascinated me as I figured the birds would have eaten them by now.  Instead, they were hanging in bunches on the cherry trees all over my neighborhood.  On this particular morning, they were bathed in rain drops that seem to be glistening dots of shining light reflecting the stillness of the gray day.

As I walked by each tree, these little drops of water hanging from each berry captured my attention.  I chuckled at how they were continually drawing my eye on these walks.  I am not sure if it was the dark redness of the cherries contrasted to the emptiness of a tree with no leaves, or whether it was something calling me to think deeper as the cherries hung there with hundreds of raindrops clinging to them.  I had repeatedly found myself thinking of the Scripture where Jesus talks about trees that bear fruit versus those that do not.  It seemed to me that I had a whole neighborhood full of these trees to tell that story.

Down the way a bit, we have a little park that has a path that winds between two small ponds.  It was at this bridge that I stopped with the dogs to take a look out over the water.  It was lightly raining, ever so lightly more than a mist.  For some reason, I just wanted to take in the moment with nature.  To my surprise, the wind was still and the top of the water was like glass.  You could see all the little ringlets of water as each raindrop splashed into the pond.  Much to my surprise, dotted among the smaller ones were these bigger splashes.  As I looked up, I realized that the bigger trees leaning over the pond were collecting the smaller raindrops together and releasing a much bigger one that was creating these larger splashes.  The interesting thing is that you could barely see either as they were falling; it was their impact that made them more visible.

A thought crossed my mind as I looked up at these bigger trees, that had grown taller than the others:  What if this is a picture of us and why we are to seek to grow closer with God?  For me, I often see these incredible paradigms in nature that declare the glory and majesty of God…these wonderful examples that call to us to remember that this world was designed and created, not by random chance, but an amazing God who is calling to each of us.

As the thought rumbled around in my mind, I thought of how God has designed almost every plant to reach up towards the sun.  While I don’t believe that the created is to be worshiped, what if this is an example for us?  What if this is the way we’ve been designed ourselves?  To be continually reaching towards Him.  To grow stronger and closer in our relationship…though the Son is what gives us the strength and power to grow, our part, like the trees, is to reach up as high as we can go.

But the question becomes why and to whose benefit, right?  As I watched these large raindrops fall, my thought turned to the illustration of the bigger raindrop versus the smaller ringlets from the free-falling raindrops, and this beautiful thought came to mind.  God brings the rain, the “nourishment” that we need.  What if this is continually falling around us…God trying to get our attention in the little things, things barely noticeable if you do not stop and pay attention.  The little gifts here and there that pop into our lives to grant us comfort, hope if only for a moment, grace when we aren’t sure how to give it or think we cannot receive it, strength when we are too weak to know how to move forward, or the unexpected love in the kindness of another.  What if these moments are God’s little raindrops in our world?

Looking at the pond, there was a noticeably bigger impact of some raindrops than others, but their size did not originate in the heavens.  It was caused by the trees already here on earth, gathering these drops (or moments) together until they are one and together they fall resulting in a greater impact.  Is that why we are supposed to draw closer to God and stronger in faith?  Is it possible for those who seek to walk in God’s ways that we can pool together God’s blessings and join Him in making an even bigger impact with His raindrops?  That by growing towards His likeness, both individually as well as corporately in a group setting, we can take those moments of strength, grace, insight, love and pool them together for the benefit of the world around us…

I watched with delight as the raindrops burst upwards back into the air and then back down to create these beautiful ripples.  What I noticed is that their ripples were bigger than the adjacent raindrops and they lasted longer.  How true that also seemed to me.  So many don’t even notice the small gifts God gives them each day, but they do seem to see it more concretely through and in the hands or arms of another.  And that bigger drop does not negate or supersede the smaller ones for it is just an accumulation of them.  If our faith is right and our walk humble, than we will realize that in the moments we can impact the lives of another, it is not really us…it is God working through us…the glory still and always will originate in Him.

What an amazing thought to think that God allows us to be a part of those moments in life where we can have a true impact on another.  What an incredible honor and privilege.  I walked home amazed by His creation, humbled by such wonderful thoughts and incredibly grateful for I had needed some inspiration to walk, to write, and to draw closer to Him.  Beautifully, it came on a day I least expected…a dreary, gray day in a mundane task that I was not super excited about.  But that is the beauty of a cloudy day–your eyes are naturally more relaxed and wide open–you’ll be amazed at what you see when your heart is willing!

“Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make music to our God on the harp.  He covers the sky with clouds; He supplies the earth with rain and makes the grass grow on the hills.”  ~Psalm 147:7-8