My hope is in you.

The rain is pouring down.

“I’ve never lived in Uganda before this,” said my roommate Martha, “but I feel like this is an excessive amount of rain.”

It’s like clockwork. Most days between 2:30 and 5 p.m. the steady sound of rain pounds on the rooftops.

Rain is like snow in Uganda. Most people, including myself, don’t have the means for traveling in it. Therefore, I get my fair share of little mini-snow days for a couple of hours many afternoons. Some days it provides the opportunity for an extended conversation with a friend. Other times I get to be productive and get some lesson planning done. There are the afternoons where it makes for a soothing lullaby to nap. And yet, many times it’s a great chance to just meet with my Savior for a little extra intimate time together.

Some things, like the rain, can be inconvenient, disheartening or discouraging, if you choose to look at it that way. Or, it can be a meeting place for growth and an opportunity to be stretched.

It’s just when I think it can’t rain any harder, that it seems to pick up. And, isn’t life that way sometimes?

Yet, Romans tells us, “… we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

We have hope in the glory of God. That a future glory awaits us, and now, even today, we can take joy in whatever it is that opposes us. Whatever it is that is stretching us and causing us no other option but to call out to our Savior, who not only answers us, but brings glory to Himself in our constant transformation to be more like Him.