*April Showers Bring May Flowers*

So, if you are anything like me, you have taken notice of the random amounts of rain we have been experiencing lately. Its spring, and April for that matter, which means it is going to rain a lot. Well, I was out walking the dogs today, like I do every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and I started thinking; Today is a beautiful day (apart from the random gusts of 30 mph wind). Why can't everyday be like today? Rain is dark and gloomy, and it gets your pants muddy. While I was pondering that, God struck me with a notion; if it was perfectly sunny everyday and never rained, those sunny days wouldn't be appreciated quite like they are after a rainstorm. For that matter, if it never rained, we would be living in a desert, with no trees or pretty flowers. After all, April showers bring May flowers, don't they?

In that same sense, we tend to ask God, why can't I be happy all the time? Why can't things just run smoothly every day? Why do I have to suffer or go through pain? Well, my friend, if everything were perfect all the time, would we really appreciate it? We would have nothing to compare it to. Just like we compare the most awful rainy day to a spectacular sunny day, we would not know how good the sun felt if we had not felt the rain. Enduring the rain and making the most of the cloudy day makes us appreciate when the sun shines again. And in case you haven't noticed, the sun always comes after a storm. God is more interested in who we are then how happy we are. He is more interested in building your character through the storm so that next time the rain comes, you will be able to appreciate the darkness and draw nearer to Him. Once the storms have passed, the most beautiful flowers will grow, and you will appreciate their beauty, because you know what it took for them to bloom.