You Are Picked For A Purpose: Despite Rainy Days

IS RAIN A PAIN? OR IS RAIN A GAIN?

In my last post I asked What Were The Seeds Sown In Your life? This was in respect of the gifts and purpose for which you are known, As we have been told in John 15:16 I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit. Sadly, there are occasions when life becomes difficult and we fail to discern the gifts we have been given. What with Covid19, Ukraine war, climate change, and financial poverty, when more so than now?  I know!  I've been there. Which is why the aim of my latest book is to demonstrate that no matter the hardship we may be going through, or how inadequate we may feel at times, we're all Picked For A Purpose, and that looking back to our early years can often be helpful in recognising our purpose.

Ironically, given the drought we're currently experiencing due to climate change, one of the chapters is titled Rain's A Pain, and another But Rain Brings Gain. As I've written:

“Here, in Britain, the weather is always changing and is, therefore, a constant talking point. People in warmer climes sometimes pity us for the amount of rain that falls – as, indeed, we do ourselves. Rainy days are perceived as a negative. But the fact is, without them, there would be no growth. As William Blake immortalised in his poem, Jerusalem, the British Isles are known as being a 'green and pleasant land'. The changing seasons are a vital element in this respect, just as rainy days are a necessity in order for seeds to grow.”

The negatives, or rainy days, in my life began at birth. Suffering acutely whenever I was fed, I would screech with pain. My mother, when told that I was a 'naughty, attention-seeking baby' and to take no notice, she left me to cry. Naturally, I felt unloved, and when nightmares followed in which, having watched my parents hovering over my grave I then woke screaming, I was told I was a naughty girl for waking my baby sister. 'Children should be seen and not heard,' was the mantra I heard, repeatedly, throughout my childhood.

I know, from the many talks I've given, that I am not alone in experiencing hardship. We may feel as if our life, our persona, has been dominated by negatives. We may even believe that any good seed scattered in our lives has been trampled on. But the fact is, as I later learned, in God's hands these aspects of my life – and yours – may be turned to good use.

Here's how God used my disastrous childhood to give me a purpose in life.  Having developed a love of reading, via my father, I would escape to the attic to devour the books my mother felt were nothing but collectors of dust. And there, in due course, I began to write.  This was to be the start of a career that would one day see me as a bestselling author. The seeds sown in earlier life, began to take root – all as a result of the 'rainy days' – and to bear shoots. The negatives of rainy days began to show a gain. In God's hands, these aspects of my life – and yours – were turned to good use.

Each chapter of my book ends with questions to enable my readers to seek answers in their own lives. As one of my reviewers says:

Mel Menzies has an impressive track record with her books. She has the ability to be searingly transparent about her life experiences, and this serves as a mirror to the reader with the invitation to view their own challenges in a hope-filled way.  Look in the mirror of ‘Picked for a Purpose’ and it may prove life changing!

David Coffey OBE BMS Global Ambassador

SO WHAT IS GOD'S PURPOSE FOR US?

We are to thank God that no matter how negative life may seem at times, in his hands all may be used for growth.