Raindrops, Blessings and Devotions

Bruce Von Stiers

A beautiful song is sometimes borne from a tragedy. It Is Well With My Soul is just one example. Another example is Blessings written and sung by Contemporary Christian artist Laura Story. The inspiration for that song came from the health crisis Laura's husband was having.

Following up on that Grammy nominated song, Laura wrote a devotional book drawing on the various elements of pain, heartache and searching for answers and enlightenment. The title of the book is What If Your Blessings Come Through Raindrops? The book was published by Freeman-Smith and distributed by Worthy Publishing.

The book is soft-covered and has 240 pages. There are 30 chapters with an addendum of sorts that features selected bible verses.

Laura begins the book with the lyrics from the song, Blessings, and then gives the reader a short introduction telling about the basis for the book. In that introduction she states, “...sometimes God actually blesses His children through the absence of the very things they pray for.”

The first chapter deals with being a blessing for others. Laura used the story of Abraham and Sarah to illustrate that even though things didn't go well at first, God awarded Abraham.

Each chapter has bible scripture in it as a focal point. There are also inspirational quotes from Billy Graham, Max Lucado, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Corrie ten Boom among others. At the end of each chapter Laura has provided a lined page for the reader to add their own thoughts.

One particular chapter spoke to an issue that a lot of people deal with. That is, material wealth over spiritual wealth. Laura uses the story of the wealth that God gave King Solomon and how Solomon began to revere that wealth above all else. In the chapter there is a section titled The Dangers of Materialism with quotes that say things such as greed is evil and enslaving and that pursuit of pleasures eventually raises expectations beyond anything accomplishable.

Does healing come from emotional outpouring such as tears? One chapter deals with loss and how it's okay to grieve but to use the strength that God gives us to move forward. There is a terrific quote in the chapter from Ruth Bell Graham about not abandoning the ship when things get rough.

A later chapter is titled The Hidden Blessing of Affliction. Laura tells of how people visited her and her husband during his hospital stay. And that though some people thought they were giving spiritual comfort in the things they said, “They bruised my heart, and they didn't bring healing.” I understand that statement as I've felt that more than once as family members have died and people tried to be comforting and consoling. The chapter has a quote from Barbara Johnson on God making things well with your life even if your life seems “crazy or nutty.”

The back cover of the book has a question, “What if the trials of this life are mercies in disguise?” Laura does well in trying to answer that question with her own observations, parts of her life story and scripture and stories from the bible. This is more than just a daily devotional. It speaks to the heartbreak, suffering and other trials in life with compassion and an unerring faith in the true blessings we receive from God.

What If Your Blessings Come Through Raindrops? Is available at most Christian book outlets and though online venues such as amazon.com.

To learn more about the book and Laura Story, visit her official site at http://laurastorymusic.com/

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© 2015 Bruce E Von Stiers