Beloved Rain

DAILY BYTE

I’ve seen that we can have quite hectic rainstorms here in Durban. So, think today about the last rainstorm that you experienced. A significant one for me occurred while during the spring term of my last year at varsity in Minnesota in the United States. I was really struggling and had recently learned that the most precious person in the world to me was diagnosed with terminal cancer. I didn’t care about school anymore – I was tired of life – tired of searching for purpose in a world that seemed clouded by death. I was angry – that God would allow such horrible things to happen to the people I loved and frustrated that my faith couldn’t seem to cure. And, I was too proud to admit that under my façade of togetherness, I was falling to pieces under the stress and pressure to survive and perform – to show my friends, my mentors, and my family that I could make it on my own and was good enough and strong enough.

Well, winter in Minnesota – a time when it snows virtually every day – was fading into spring, and the snow was melting and giving way to some warmth. I sat at my desk one night, feeling pretty sorry for myself and trying to do some work when a friend knocked on my door. She was a sweet, Christian woman but also struggled with family problems and feelings of being defeated. It was not unusual for her to knock on my door just to sit and talk. But on this night, she banged on my door and said, “Come, Anna, see! It’s thundering and raining and hailing outside!” Now, under ordinary circumstances, it’s no one’s first choice to go stand outside and get pelted with ice, but I cared about my friend, and this was clearly important to her, so before I knew it we were standing together outside in the dark, our clothes dripping, in the rainy cold, and ice was stinging my face and arms, but it started to mix with tears from my eyes. I looked over and I could see my friend’s face glowing, smiling through the rain and the hail. From out of my chest, laughter and crying erupted all at once, as water soaked my feet and hair stuck to my face.

In that moment, it seemed God was saying, this is it – this is life. You may feel like you are alone, subject to the rain and hail of life, but I am here, all around you, stronger than you are, and yet, your tears are my tears. Your joy is my joy. You were forgiven and accepted into my family with everyone else, as a child of God in the waters of baptism, and you are accepted and loved again today and for all eternity. I heard God saying, I am the giver of the water of life, even in the midst of a world that seems to be drowning in death. Let me surround you with that life. Let me embrace you with it – let me say, you are forgiven and loved! Let you put down your bundle of pride and believe it, and let you live in peace.

Since we are not good enough and strong enough to tackle life on our own, in what ways is God raining his grace and love down on you? When you feel the rain this week, allow it to remind you of the waters of baptism, whether you have been baptized, or not. Picture grace for you in that rain from heaven, and be at peace.


PRAY-AS-YOU-GO

O God, our heavenly Father, you who by your Son Jesus Christ promised to all those who seek your kingdom, and its righteousness, all things necessary for their sustenance: Send us, we pray, in our great need, such moderate rain and showers, that we may have water to drink, for our homes, gardens and fields, and also receive the fruits of the earth to our comfort, and your glory. May these rains remind us of the grace that washes over us in baptism and remains with us our whole life long, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

- Adapted from the Book of Common Prayer