Sunday, September 18, 2011

How do you spell relief? R-A-I-N

What's that stuff coming from the sky? Could it be? Rain. Big drops falling from the sky. A sight for sore eyes. Months of intense heat without a drop of rain left Houston beyond parched. Wildfires consumed homes and threatened to take over the city. My mom mentioned doing a rain dance. From pulpits to bedside altars, prayers for rain have been on the lips of Houstonians.

I don't normally think too much of the weather or the yearly rain totals until this severe drought settled in for an extended stay. It seemed that there was no end and no sign of a moisture rich cloud in the sky. Hot, hotter and hottest. And I wish I were talking about men. My skin dried out. I never thought I'd be so eager to feel humidity again.

Yesterday the drops came pelting to the ground. A hefty afternoon thunderstorm with puddle making fervor. As God would have it, I was not alone during this storm but thankfully was visiting my sister, bro-in-law and nephews. Leave it to a kid to know how to make the most of life's simple pleasures.

My five year old nephew devised a plan when cats and dogs started falling from the sky. We watched it on the porch of their apartment and then he had had enough of the watching. The little guy rallied his dad and the next thing we know, they are out runnin, splashin, and kickin in the rain. Of course, the three and a half year old joined the rain celebration ritual.

It was only a matter of time when my sister and I jumped in to splish splash. Tongue stuck out, I modeled for my nephew what catching rain drops looks like. I have a new understanding of what it means for a city to go through a long period of time without. In this case, it's without rain. Stories in the Old Testament talk about famines. A long period of time where the source of food is dwindling.

I think about how droughts and famines can propel us to seek God's presence. No matter what we are without for a long period of time, it is an open door to pursue the Lord. It may seem like God is silent. Take heart, He is working in unseen ways. "So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, like the springs rain watering the earth." Hosea 6:3