By Judy Villanueva.

Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.  Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep.  You, Lord, preserve both people and animals.  

How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!  People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.  They feast on the abundance of your house;  you give them drink from your river of delights.  for with you is the fountain of life;  in your light we see light. (Psalm 36-7-9)

It was our 25th wedding anniversary!  My husband packed a picnic for us and at 5:00 pm we headed out for a hike on a new trail.  As usual, he was excited for a new adventure and, as usual, I was nervous about encountering a lion, tiger or bear!  We found the trailhead and hiked together through a beautiful cavern, a lush green meadow and finally, the edge of a beautiful river where  we sat down to share our anniversary dinner.  There, we reminisced about a quarter century of life together until something beautiful and unexpected began to sprinkle down around us! That was the moment I discovered “Magic Rain.”  Well, I didn’t actually discover it but I noticed and named it!  Magic rain is when the sun is setting and it starts to rain!  Each droplet catches the sunlight as it falls and sparkles with delight!  I absolutely know when I see it that God is good and beautiful — and, that I can trust Him with all that is my life.

I asked a young friend recently what God was speaking to her about in the last few weeks.  She was dubious about whether or not God speaks with us specifically about our personal and real lives.  I encouraged her that God does indeed speak, all day and all night, about everything we can imagine and about infinite things, unimaginable.  I told her that I believe God desires to speak into every aspect of our lives and cares deeply about the things we care about. 

He is aware of us — every part of us — all the time.

He made us and promised to love us forever with a faithfulness that won’t ever, ever quit. His commitment to us is strong and deeply true, truer than anything we’ve ever known.  This is the God who watches over us and this is the God who speaks, yes, even through magic rain!

You see, magic rain isn’t just beautiful. It splashes us with evidence of a present and happy God! 

Noticing God’s goodness and beauty in the life around us is a way of tuning into His presence and connecting to His love. 

He IS the magic amidst the mundane, the Giver of light-filled drops from Heaven, along with countless other blessings that surround us, awaiting our notice. 

A fire in the fireplace, the loved one who sits across from you, a colorful sunrise, or a cup of hot cider are all invitations to Divine presence.  They sparkle and speak of the God who is with us.  Emmanuel.  The prayer of noticing and naming His wonders is a way that we enter into His delights and become part of the laughter that celebrates His goodness.   

“Thank you, Father, that you are the fountain of life and in your light we see light.  Help me notice you in the life around me today.  Let your goodness and beauty pull me into the middle of your delightful presence.  Amen.”

What about you?

Can you hear goodness and beauty say to your soul, “God is with you!”?

Do you listen for God’s voice?  Do you expect to hear Him speaking to you?

How do you do at “noticing and naming” the wonders of God around you?

It goes without saying that just beyond those sunlit droplets is a rainbow waiting to be noticed!

Worship