Showers of Blessing...

I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of savage beastsso that they may live in the wilderness and sleep in the forests in safety. I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing. The trees will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them. Ezekiel 34:25-27 

Ezekiel gives the people this picture of from God to help them endure their long and weary exile. They feel like strangers in a strange land, which is a lot like how Paul calls us "strangers and aliens" on this earth (Ephesians 2:19) and how Jesus says "you do not belong to this world" (John 15:19). There has always been this hunger in the human heart, and only God can meet it - and he does.

God's promise is to send "showers of blessing," right in the middle of your hardship, your exile, your desire to belong. 

The saints of old often used their imagination to help them experience God's love. This may seem strange, but today I want to encourage you to try this exercise: close your eyes and imagine God's love like a refreshing rain, pouring over you. Just sit in the rain, allowing it to drench your soul with blessing. For some people, it can be helpful to set a timer for 3-5 minutes. You might want to read over that passage one more time before beginning, and then just to sit in quiet, imagining the rain of God's favor pouring over you.