Posted By: revmaddog1948
Posted On: 15:00:38 4th Oct 2009If I could have remained quiet, I would not have been put on the spot! But I must speak what I have seen, and what my heart believes!
BUT WHEN HE PRAYS, HE MUST BELIEVE AND NOT DOUBT!
His name is Mark, and he works in the Lab. He is a young, good looking, energetic, and sociable guy, and we were talking about the impending rainy day. The subject came up because Mark was interested in spiritual things, and I had mentioned to him about the time I had prayed for 30 rainy days during the drought a couple of yeas earlier. That earlier conversation put me in Mark’s cross hairs.
“You haven’t been praying for rain lately, have you?” asked Mark accusingly, for the company picnic was scheduled for Saturday, the very next day, and the forecast was for heavy rain, all day. I assured Mark that God did not like to rain on anyone’s picnic, but this assurance was not enough for Mark. “You’ve got connections! Why don’t you put in a word for us?”
I nervously sputtered that that was not how it was done, and then a strange sense of calmness came over me, and I found me self saying, “O.K., I’ll do that! I’ll ask God to hold off the rain from 12 noon till 3”! God likes prayers to be specific. The calm that I felt quickly left, and before I closed the door to the lab, I was painting worst case scenarios of lightning and a heavy down pour on top of exposed picnic tables right as we were eating.
The company picnic had just been moved to the Century Park in Plymouth. It had rained in the early morning, but had quit in time for the picnic to be set up. The tables stayed dry because they were under shelters. Lynne and I and the girls arrived just a little late.
The Park had a great swimming pool which was free admission to the employees and their families. Mike Reed was roasting a huge amount of corn on the cob on aluminum foil. Jerry was cooking brats, hamburgers, and hot dogs. There was a dunk tank to raise money, and managers wee dutifully taking their turns at sitting on the plank. Kip could barely stand, for beer was available, but he still never missed, either right or left handed, and managers were hitting the water on every throw. Guys were coming up to Kip and handing him wads of ones to keep him throwing. There was a wandering magician, bingo for prizes, a moon walk for kids, clowns painting faces and making balloon animals.
IF YOU HAVE FAITH AS SMALL AS A MUSTARD SEED, YOU CAN SAY TO THIS MOUNTAIN, BE THOU REMOVED! AND IT SHALL BE REMOVED!
There were several hundred people in attendance. There was a baseball game, horseshoe contest, tug of war, a water balloon toss. The favorite event was the bingo game, which was then followed by the drawing at the end of the picnic. Both events had large amounts of cool prizes, color TVs, camping tents, lawn chairs, booster cables (which we made), and anything else that the company could arm twist from suppliers and customers. The drawing was designed to make every body stay until the end of the picnic.
Every one was having a great time, but my enjoyment was hampered by the clouds. These were not ordinary clouds. They were low hanging, horizon to horizon clouds, bulging low like cow udders full of milk, pregnant with moisture. You could feel the moisture in the air. I kept a close eye on my wrist watch as the minutes ticked away, then the hours. Finally the last prize was given away at 3 p.m. and Jerry, our human relations manger, thanked every one, and every body started to scurry for their cars, for the first rain drops started to fall. The food had already been put away, and since every body was at the drawing, all the other events had closed shop and left. As the last car doors slammed shut, the rain began to get serious, coming down hard, and as I pulled up to the gate of the park with my family, the rain turned torrential, and I began to understand a little how Noah felt.
Mark and I have talked about that day when he challenged me to pray for God to hold back the rain for the company picnic. Peggy, his colleague, was there, also, and remembers both the conversation and the picnic. We all place the date in the summer of 95 or 96, the year the company moved its’ wire extrusion plant from Bremen, IN, to Mishawaka. Since they were both there, it was right after they were rehired, because they were not with the original group that moved. Mike Reed was still with us, and Kip was not yet a supervisor, or he would have been on the plank of the dunk tank, and not throwing unerring baseballs at the trip paddle.
ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD!
Two more installments remain on the Rain Parables. In two weeks, The Widow, The Boy, and the Preacher’s Daughter. The final parable will be the Farmer’s Funeral.
I like the word parable, because in a parable the story does not have to be true, nor does it not have to be true. You as the listener do not have to believe. In a parable, all that is required is that one person tells a story, and another listens, and a truth is taught.

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