Running, Rain, and Tender Plants

I run.  It is my first love when it comes to exercise.  I very specifically love to run on a treadmill.  For all the reasons people don't like to run on one, I love it.  I wouldn't classify myself as a graceful runner or anything near that.  I can count no less than 10 times in my years that I've "quit" and then had to start back at the most basic of training levels.  I also don't have fancy equipment - my treadmill is coming up on 9 years old and most of my running clothes were purchased pre-children.  I purposefully only run listening to praise and worship music because He is the encouragement I need- Emmanuel, God with me.  But, it's rarely an upbeat set of songs- more melodic and spa-like.  And, rarely are my runs a mindless escape from the daily grind.  My time on the treadmill is logged with fervent prayer and reflections on what the Lord has been showing me.  You'd be amazed at how He speaks directly to my heart- despite my loud heart beat and feet hitting the tread and the radio blaring in my always-cramped garage.  

This morning was no different. 

Hurricane Isaac changed our plans to travel to Louisiana for Labor Day.  Instead we spent a few days in Branson with my parents, sister-in-love, and nephew.  And, alas, the remnants of the hurricane have been upon our area for the last 24 hours.  

While cooling down after my run, I began to thank the Lord for all he has given me in regards to the ability to exercise.  And, for the glorious rain falling (after all, I keep my garage door half open!).  It has been a soft and steady rain this morning.  As Chris calls it "the good rain" that actually soaks into the ground instead of just running off into the drains.  After a summer of extreme heat, the ground has been parched.  

And, then, a reminder of what the Lord spoke to the children of Israel, the most famous desert wanderers, via the Song of Moses:::

"Let my teaching fall like rain, and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants." Deut 32:2

This is the Good rain for me, a tender plant ready to soak Him in!