After a long winter any sign of it warming up outside is welcome. We claim we are willing to get any relief from the snow and the cold that we can. But then the rain showers of April arrive, and we complain about those too. We seem to be able to complain about anything. We get sick quickly of the wet and the rain. “Don’t rain on my parade.” It’s an expression we’re all familiar with. An expression that began because a parade or too was literally ruined, no doubt. But there are many great things about rain showers too.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 charges us to talk about faith as we go about life, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the way, when you lie down and when you get up.”

So, how can we use the everyday of the month of April to talk about faith? Here’s some ideas:

• April Fools’ Day- Does your family like to “fool” each other or pull pranks on April 1^st? Some families avoid this day, and some have big plans. This year the “fooling” falls on Easter what some could see as a great “fool”. This can be a great opportunity to talk about it. Some believe that Jesus never really died and was fooling everyone. Some believe He didn’t really rise from the dead and that was a big fool His followers shared. But we know that both of those things are completely true. Discuss why it’s important that Jesus really died and that He really rose.
• April Showers-As the rains of April fall, take the opportunity to talk about how God’s grace and blessings fall on us like rain. (Listen to the song “Grace Like Rain” if you’d like.) Talk about what the rain and God’s blessings and grace have in common.
• Umbrellas-When we’re trying to not get wet, we use an umbrella to cover our heads. They protect us from what we’d like to avoid—the cold rainwater. Talk about how umbrellas are like God protecting us. Note: It would be confusing to talk about the rain as blessings and needing protection from the rain in the same day. Do this at two separate times or simply choose the topic your family most needs to learn.
• Galoshes-Galoshes are great for jumping in puddles. As we jump and splash, they keep our feet dry. When we jump in puddles we can see how the whole puddle is affected by our splash. Discuss how in life, everything we do has an effect on the people and things around us. Sometimes our effect is positive and what we do makes a fun, happy splash. Sometimes what we do is less positive—it’s messy and harmful to what’s around us. Talk about how we can impact those around us for Christ.

See? Rain showers can prompt for faith talks too.