Standing on my back patio, I heard a loud and consistent sizzling-type noise that sounded like it was coming from the woods several houses down my street. I could see nothing that could be causing the sound, but it was quite loud and growing louder. I watched intently to see what could be causing that sound. Suddenly, a heavy rain emerged from the woods and approached me. I stood watching as it came closer, one back yard at a time. At first, it was just a few drops on my patio, heavy drops, but a few just the same. Then it was here, at MY house, in MY yard, and it was beautiful: a perfect rain, not too heavy, just what was needed!

I looked over, and there it was: a rainbow!

If you have a prodigal, you most likely hear a lot of sounds about prodigals: promises from reading God’s word or spoken by others to encourage you, songs on the radio, or devotionals. You may hear testimonies of other prodigal’s being saved, but you can see no rain headed your way. The noise is getting louder, but you can’t see anything. Suddenly, there it is, approaching your own home! And when it hits, it is just what was needed! And there is always a rainbow to remind us of the promise that was there all along!

Through the process of waiting for our prodigals to come back to God, we will keep praying, watching, listening until we can hear, then see, the promise come to our own homes, our own families.

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).