Rain, Rain, Go Away
“Rain, rain, go away, come again some other day,” we used to chant as children, longing to go outside and play on a rainy day. I still say that chant when cloudy, rainy days follow upon each other for more than two days at a time. I can take one or two days of rain. I even enjoy the excuse to stay inside and read when I can. But I reach my limit quickly. Two days is about all I can handle.
I remember camping trips ruined by rain. Every summer as a kid, we would rent a cottage on a lake in the Traverse City area of Michigan. Rainy days were spent driving into Traverse City, exploring the small zoo and seeing what else we could see. The rest of the time we spent swimming, boating, fishing, playing outdoors. Except for those occasional summers when it rained all week, leaving us with only a half a day of sunshine.
None of that compares with what the people of Texas are experiencing with Hurricane Harvey.
Rain is a necessity. It fulfills an essential role in the ecosystem, providing life-giving waters to the earth. Farmers need rain for their crops. Our bodies are 45-60% H2O, requiring water to sustain them. We need water to bathe in and wash our clothes. Water is a necessity for every day life. But there can be too much of a good thing.
Parched, desert areas long for rain, but if they are inundated by too much at once, it may be more than the dry soil can soak up. Other areas of the country would love a portion of the water being dumped on Texas, but unfortunately, it just doesn’t work that way. We don’t control the weather. We can’t turn on or off the rain, moving clouds to areas of the country that need the rain. It is not under our control.
I can’t imagine being caught in a hurricane with days and days of wind and rain. I can’t imagine being trapped inside my home or clinging to the roof for safety from rushing waters. It’s a reminder of the power of nature and that there is so much in this world over which we have no control. And so I pray for the residents trapped in the deluge, who have lost homes, possessions, pets, lives.
I pray to the Creator of rain, snow, hail, and sunshine. “Rain, rain, go away! Come again on another day, in another place.”
I will give the seasonal rain to your land, the early rain and the late rain, that you may have your grain, wine and oil to gather in. Dt. 11:14
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