In the past month, two trusted pastors from around the country have spoken encouraging words to our church. Both men used rain as the metaphor to describe God’s blessing and both men said the rain is coming soon. New Life could sure use some rain and I am thankful for the forecast. The past month has been especially difficult for many of us as the painful issues of our past have been opened again. Today, though, I feel a burden has been lifted.
One of the pastors described a scene from the movie, “The Shawshank Redemption.” It is one of my favorite movies, too. Andy is one of the main characters and was an inmate at the state prison in Maine. He was there for a crime he did not commit and for many years he slowly chipped his way through his cell wall using a small rock hammer. One night during a thunderstorm, he slipped through the hole in the wall, and crawled several hundred yards through a sewage pipe which led to a creek outside the prison walls. When he finally reached freedom, he tore off his old clothes and stood with his face and hands lifted in the pouring rain. Andy was free and he was letting the rain wash away the stench of his journey.
New Life can relate to Andy standing in the rain. Our church family is finally crawling out of the long sewage pipe of scandal and terror and can smell the fresh rain ahead. The journey has been long and difficult and I am sure no one wants to repeat the trip, but what we have learned about God, each other, and ourselves is priceless.
God is not finished with New Life. In fact, I am convinced our best days are still ahead and God will receive all the glory. So, let it rain! Lord, open the floodgates of heaven, and let it rain!