I have always envied my friends who love to live in rainy places. There’s the friend who said, “I Iove to fall asleep to the sound of rain drops falling on my window sill.” I didn’t understand it then, and I still don’t understand it now.
I think I have always suffered from Seasonal Affective Disorder. The dreary days affect me. Rain and fog make me want to stay inside under the covers, waiting for the sun to reappear and draw me out of my bed like metal pulled up by a magnet. The sun is my magnet and I am pulled up by it.
But this year, this Lent, I have made the decision to approach rain differently. Rather than focus on the wet sogginess of it, I am going to focus on the life force water is, and how important rain is for replenishing this dry earth. I am going to be my own internal magnet and pull myself up and out into the pouring drops cascading from the heavens or gently falling around me.
I am going to reach out my hand and feel the wetness, lift my face and let the drops fall on it without being concerned about makeup or mascara. I am going to let the drops fall on my hair with abandon. I am going to open my hands and heart and transform my ideas about rain, asking God to help me.
Why? Because Lent is about transformation; it is about turning back or turning around altogether. It’s about turning. Lent is about change.
This Lenten season we are living through a time that no one would have expected. Even in our current situation, what change or turning is God moving you toward this Lenten season? How might you open your hand to a whole new attitude or idea or behavior or perspective on something that might seem so “fixed” within you? Nothing is too fixed for God. Nothing is too concretized for the Holy Spirit to enter in and initiate a great turning within and without.
Blessings on your journey of transformation and turning. And may you stay safe in these difficult times.
Shared by Reverend Elise Brown
4 responses to “Rain”
I like to call dreary (cold, rainy, etc) days “cozy inside days.” And yes, this Lenten season paired with our restrictions from COVID-19 “encourage” us to slow down, reflect, and maybe make changes. The very least of may be to appreciate the sun even more. Stay safe!
This was beautiful and uplifting. Thanks Rev. Elise. Enjoy this sunny day in our city.
What a refreshing and inspirational reading for this first day of April. The sun is, indeed, shining! Thank you, Elise.
This is so beautifully worded, simply and honestly spoken. How wonderful to turn your view of rain “inside out” to see it as our life force! It inspires me to wonder if we can turn some of the pain of social distancing into the practice of holy solitude. Thank you, Rev. Elise!