The Umbrella

I was using an object lesson with my kids the other day, one I read about in a book. It seemed to make sense, and I thought I'd try it out as a way to help them understand why there are rules and why they have to follow them. The basic lesson is this: parents are like an umbrella, and the rain is bad things happening. As long as you follow the rules and stay under the umbrella of your parent's protection, then you, for the most part, will stay dry and safe. But when you disobey and step outside of the protetction of the umbrella, you are opening yourself up to the rain- the consequences- the negative in the world. Well... you know how God works in my heart. For every lesson I think I'm teaching my children, God throws at least one back in my heart.

You see, as I was drawing the picture of the umbrella, the rain, and the kids standing safely under cover, it decided I had to draw another, bigger umbrella above the one that I had first drawn. I had to draw the "God" umbrella, because parents are accountable to and protected by Him. It made sense, and the kids seemed to get the idea. But God wrote it more deeply on my heart. You see, He will protect us, and He will keep us safe. We, as Christians, just need to draw near to Him, stay under the umbrella of His protection and obey His laws and He will keep us from getting soaked in the rainstorms of life. There WILL be storms, rain WILL come, difficult times WILL appear. And sometimes, even if we are under the umbrella, the hems of our pants may get a little damp. But the closer we draw to Him, the one holding the handle of the umbrella, the less the waters of the worlds' crisis will soak us. Conversely, if we decide to step out from under His cover, we run the risk of getting hosed.

It may not seem bad at first. It may be a bright sunny day without a cloud in sight. We may think it is okay to just push the envelope a little, peek out from under the edge, enjoy the warm, sunny weather. And honestly, it may be nice out there in the sun. The warmth of sunshine may feel good on our skin, the breeze more refreshing on our faces without that umbrella in the way. So we start walking along, still near to His will, but not quite in it. We can see exactly how He would like us to stay close, right up against Him, but we're having fun out here in the sun! We still know He's there, and we're not even too far away. But suddenly, the storm hits. The rain comes without warning, and the clouds darken the sky. We're left standing on our own- soaking wet, not able to clearly see the umbrella past the torrents of rain between us. We run around, searching for that safety, wishing we hadn't stepped outside of that protection to begin with, crying for Him to save us.

And He is good. He is still there, and His umbrella always has room for us to come running back. He will take us back into his arms, brush our wet hair from our eyes, and dry us with his mercy. Sure, He wishes that we never left to begin with. But the miracle of his gift of salvation is that He offers it over and over to anyone who will take it. But for me, I'm tired of the mayhem of running in the rain. Sure, the sun is fun to play in, but the safety of being in His arms during the storms is worth missing out on any earthly pleasure I can imagine. So I make it my goal to ignore the temptations of the world, to turn my eyes to Him, even when the world seems sunny. To keep my focus on staying at His side, so that when the rains come, I need just jump into his arms, right at the center of the umbrella.