There's a storm brewing.

I feel the wind slap my face as dark clouds groan in the distance.

I told a friend of mine this summer that I felt like God was preparing me for something big. I didn't know if it was going to be good or bad, but I could tell even then that something was going on.
Today in chapel I was reminded of this. The message today was about praying when life happens...and life sure happens an awful lot. Everything he (Denis Johnson) said today was an echo of what God has been making so clear in my life recently:

1. Even when I can't find my way out of the ruts I get stuck in, God still has my future put together perfectly. He knows my dreams, my passions, my longings, my struggles, my fears--but He asks me to trust Him with all of them.
2. "You don't have to wait until the end of the battle to start praising God." Regardless of what is going on in my life, God remains worthy of the best worship my human self can give Him.
3. "In the time of the storm, pray with honesty, humility, and expectancy--and pray continuously." God yearns for me to be in constant communication with Him (see 1 Thessalonians 5:17) about everything I experience. He wants me to spill my guts to Him, and He wants me to trust that He will carry me through the unknown.

I can sense that the rain is coming. Be it cleansing showers or a violent flood, I'm ready for it.