I was just reading some poems about rain, trying to find something that would mirror my feeling. (We are destined for a consistent rainfall all day.) I couldn’t find anything that was even slightly consistent with my sense of the day…which at this hour is just beginning, so difficult to assess. But here I am, listening to a steady light tapping on the roof accompanied by what resembles “white noise” hitting the leaves—neither of which I find distressing.
I love rain for the life it brings to gardens and the determination it gives to me for attending to household chores. Of course, there is also the luxury of nap-time when the chores have been successfully concluded. And there is nothing like a step outside to breathe in the fragrance of the rain and the freshness of the air when it is over.
Yes, sunshine is fine and also necessary for growth, but give me a walk in the rain on a day like this and I will be a happy girl!
Here’s a prayer-poem from John Philip Newell that we might might save and pull out on days when the air is heavy with the rain of the night or the scent of the soil that makes one want to go out and dig in the dirt. (Or is it just me?)
It’s been raining – torrents and thunder-filled sometimes – for the past three days. Yesterday it was if the divine weatherman was playing with us. Drenching downpours were followed by moments of sun peeking out of big gray clouds – then rain again…Even this morning the deck behind our house is puddle-strewn. I look out at the trees, rain soaked as well, but shining now in full sun. What a relief! I never mind the rain but when we begin to hear of flooding streams I know it’s all too much for the farmers and I pray for the balance to be restored. So today it feels as if God is saying, “Wake up! All your sluggishness is washed away! New possibilities await you!” and I sing a response with the psalmist in a translation by Nan Merrill.
Perhaps because I had left my window open last night, I was awakened early by the wild chorus of birds outside. I was somewhat grateful because I believe I saw the only patch of blue sky for this day where once again rain is predicted – 100%! The sky is gray now and the birds have completed their concert, but I continue to hear strains of Beethoven playing inside with the lyrics of Joyful, joyful we adore thee, God of glory, Lord of love. Hearts unfold like flowers before thee, opening to the sun above…
Today there is a different sound outside my open window, one I don’t remember hearing since the leafing out of the trees was complete in the spring. It’s raining, a steady drenching rain that makes itself known in the sound of its passing through those leaves on its way to ground. Oh, we’ve had showers and the occasional rumbling of thunder with five minute sprinkles but this is different; this is like a long drink of cold water on a hot day. The birds are silent, most likely hunkered down like all of us humans trying to stay dry, but the farmers must be – no doubt – dancing with joy. I’m happy for the farmers and the animals and the tasseling corn. I’m happy for people everywhere who are thirsty and whose water has not been polluted by design or by neglect.
The Sophia Center for Spirituality 