During lunch yesterday, I stared out the window for a while and watched the rain fall. It bounced hard off the street and began to pool rather quickly. I glanced at the tree in my front yard and the leaves danced as huge raindrops hit them. I could have watched it for quite some time, but duty called and I got back to work.But I thought about the rain all afternoon. Generally speaking, I like storms. Snowstorms are peaceful. Rainstorms aren't peaceful in and of themselves, but there's something about them that brings peace--maybe it's the slower pace that comes naturally as we watch the rain fall. Or maybe the peace is a result of the equalizing notion that other people are also staring out the window at the same time I am as they contemplate life. Or maybe it's the romantic notion that many of us have of walking through the rain hand in hand with somebody we love.
Maybe it's a combination of all of those things. I don't know. But I read something in the Bible recently that made me think it might even be deeper than that. Before Israel headed into Canaan (the promised land), God said this to them:
"For the land that you are entering to take possession of it is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated it, like a garden of vegetables. But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven, a land that the LORD your God cares for." (Deuteronomy 11:10-12)
As I look out my window right now, all of the plant life is damp and green and vibrant with life. Maybe the calming effect of rain somehow nurtures us and makes us feel more alive because its ultimate origin is heaven.
