Rain

A steady drizzle on the windowpane. The spraying mist on play in the background. An unexpected downpour with large rain drops. The sideway sheets of rain an umbrella cannot save you from. I love all kinds. The slow progression as rain clouds roll in or when the sudden flood gates open from a sunny sky. Each form of rain accomplishes its purpose. Comes to earth to do what it is made for.

The intense thunderstorm rain waters dry ground and fills back up lakes of what was lost in a season of drought. Downpours revive what was scorched from a summer heat. Rain supplies nourishment to encourage new growth. When rain comes, I pause for a moment to take it in. It’s beauty and practicality. Do I see a reason for the rain in my surroundings? Are there physical cracks in the ground maybe around my home’s foundation or a creek dried up in need of filling? And how quickly my mind redirects to less obvious places the eye cannot see that is in desperate need for nourishment.

My life running on fumes looks to the packed calendar at the “next thing” to survive and then I will take a break. Let this work deadline pass and then I promise to get back to daily time with God. Holiday season festivities are behind me, so now I can give myself permission to retreat to stillness and solitude for a few days. Each time rain falls, especially outside of Springtime, I feel God tap me on the shoulder. Anyone else? What God tells me through the rain sounds different based on where the rain meets me. The last day of 2020 came a downpour. The city was in a panic because the rain was not how they planned to ring in the new year. Locals banter in grocery lines and on social media feeds saying, “so long 2020 you were a dumpster fire.” I remember being soaked in my car after coming out of the grocery store with a different perspective. The downpour was my reminder God sustained us through 2020. Hard things happened.

Yet, God sent the rain.

The rain gives me a picture of how the Word of God nourishes our souls. It is hope I can hold in my hands that the Sustainer of Life succeeds in His plans. Every. Single. Time.

When I am home and it starts raining, I love standing on my back porch barefoot. As rain pours over me, I receive the fresh outpouring. Sometimes I am desperate for it. Sometimes I smile with a deep inhale and exhale to remind myself Someone greater is at work here.

I want to be someone who invites the rain and receives it as a kind gift and reminder I am not self-sufficient. More than anything, my greatest hope is for others to believe in the God who sends the rain for them too.