I love the rain. You might think I have no choice living here in the Great Pacific Northwest. There was a time when the ongoing drizzle quietly drowned my strength and creativity. But those days are long gone. I look forward to, even long for this “fair weathered” companion.
Rain is my welcoming comfort. Blanket it with a fine, gray mist and perhaps a moderate wind and you have the perfect melancholy day for reflection. Both strength and creativity begin to flow.
Great thoughts are born during this tranquil time. Great writers have been known to work their best, as pen to paper give birth to stirring novels and inspiring stories; for whatever the artist wishes to produce is easily manifested within the backdrop of rain... peaceful rain.
What is it about a winter rain that causes my thoughts to transcend into an assembly of deep reflection? It’s here that the world becomes still and life seems pleasantly at ease, as if God intended it to be. And, He has.
I do my best thinking on these days. Even the soothing balm of a quieted storm, assures me that God still controls His domain. My senses are keenly awakened and any masterpiece that I resolve to accomplish, whatever the tasks, emerges more holistic and apt. Rain for me, has a redeeming effect.
In contrast, a day of sunshine and radiant heat, entices many people to a more jovial tolerance. We tend to forget those nagging priorities in favor of a more playful mindset which lends itself on those rare summer days. Notice, how drivers drive faster, attitudes are more unbridled, standard attire is little to none, and the laughter of children echoes from one neighborhood to the next... Ah, the joy of the sun; another season where a new and different strength can be summoned. Surely, the good Lord blesses in all seasons, each prescribing its own rendition of life in the moment.
Consider me a strange being, but my heart is bound by the prevailing expressions of all things Northwest -- but particularly a season of rain. It’s during this time, I’ve noticed how drivers drive more carefully, people tend to quiet resolutions of work, even play is more strategized through books and mind-building games and we hibernate in the warmth and rest needed to rejuvenate our spirits. The interlude of winter reminds us to behave. Drizzle and rain reforms us to our better side.
Like the rain, the Lord uses the wintry trials of our lives to sharpen our thoughts towards Him. These defining moments of cold hardships can be seen as a drawing closer to the person of God. We tend to have a listening ear when our lives are hushed and we turn our face towards His promptings. While placed in the storms of life, we are, in actuality being made still, to behave, draw in, contemplate and reflect with deeper conviction. It’s during our storms, we yearn to draw on His strength and in such; we find His longing to embrace us.
Are the rains falling in your life today? Whether they are drizzles or torrents, the “wintry rains” of our lives are really hidden reminders of His greatness, immersing us with an inner peace and rest when we hibernate in His unfailing love and never-ending mercies. Don’t stop the rain.
“Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth." Hosea 6:3 (NIV)
