Fertile and Fruitful
Have you ever noticed how the people who have gone through rough times and hit rock bottom tend to end up in careers helping those dealing with the same struggles they did? Like those who dealt with an addiction or illness turn around and find a way to give back by being sponsors or therapists or working in a hospital or shelter. There is a reason for this.
We don’t have to go through something traumatic to know that the only people who can understand us when we are experiencing pain are people who have been in the same situation. It goes for all situations really, whether it’s the death of someone via suicide or a child with leukemia, when you can talk to someone who has been through the same struggle, there is a connection.
There is a book by Kate Bowler, “Everything Happens for a Reason: and other lies I’ve loved” which breaks open some how in our pain we still seek community with others, people who can understand a shred of what we are going through, if only so we know we are not alone. She also has a podcast which has recently gotten more popular where she hosts guests who talk about some of the hard things in life such as living in uncertainty, facing a death sentence with an illness, and learning to simply be human. The podcast is called “Everything Happens” and I warn you, it can get pretty heavy.
I bring all of this up to contemplate how in the scripture, God tells us he is sending the rain and the snow to nurture the earth, the soil. He wants to get the soil ready for the seed so it can grow; “achieving the end for which I sent it,” (Isaiah 55:11). I think we all have different seasons we go through, things we need to handle and as we endure those difficult times, we question WHY. I think the passage in Isaiah just might be the answer to this question.
Even in our struggles, God is preparing us, the soil to become fertile and fruitful. He doesn’t send the rain to test us, rather he sends it so that we might be fed and prepared to do what we were created to do. Embrace the storm, the rain is forming us so we can be an example for another person. One day, God will show you all of the good fruit produced by your efforts, even if you don’t always feel like you’ve made a difference.
