Raindrops

Outside I hear the raindrops. It is a simple early spring (well I can keep telling myself it is) rain that most people are not hearing right now. Granted, most people are not awake at three o'clock in the morning. It really is funny to listen to the silence of the night, and then all at once to hear thousands upon thousands of raindrops hitting pavement, grass, shingles, puddles, and metal all at once. One moment it is quiet, and the next a noisy rain is bombarding everything.

We can sometimes go weeks without rain. It comes and goes as it pleases. This does not please farmers in the summertime. Other times rain is all day every day. Sometimes it comes one day and is done the next, only to return a day later. If anything can be certain, rain is certainly unpredictable. I find it interesting the feelings that rain brings out in us. If we are deprived of it for a long period of time, we are relieved to see it. Often we might charge out into it to fully enjoy it and experience it. It feels so good when we have been given nothing but dry cloudless days. But then there are other times when it just keeps raining, and we just get sick of it. We stay inside the house all day. When we do go outside, we unveil our trusty umbrella to shield us from the wet drops. We complain about it and forget all about how it felt when the days were dry and hot from the sun.

We see this gift that we once enjoyed as now a curse. We see it as a burden or an annoying relative. We do not want this rain anymore. It can go bother someone else. Rain is always interpreted differently depending on the circumstances upon which we receive it.

It just stopped raining now. It was here and gone in a matter of maybe fifteen minutes. Sometimes that is all we get. Sometimes that is just enough for the plants to get by. Sometimes the plants do not quite make it. But the rain comes and goes in its random cycle just as it always has done. Rain washes away the dirt and grime left behind by nasty dry days and sweaty humid nights. It reminds us all that this world gets dirty and needs to be cleaned. It reminds us that we must remain clean as well. It does not mean we will always be clean. We will get dirty, but that is why there is always more rain.

When I see it raining now, my mind always, for whatever reason, goes to the song "Love Reign O'er Me" by The Who. If you have not heard the song, I encourage you to look it up and listen to it any way you can, whether that be through YouTube or iTunes or whatever you may use. It is a fantastic song that is truly sung with passion. I think if you hear this song, and think about it, you will see that:
Rain is like Love.
Rain is like Grace.
Rain is a gift from God.