Rejoice in the LORD your God! For the rains he sends are an expression of his grace... Joel 2:23
Lately I've been listening to a very simple but powerful chorus speaking of the Holy Spirit. "Let it rain, Let it rain, Open the floodgates of Heaven."
We have been experiencing a near drought. The grass is brown and crisp in my yard, the birds are apparently too hot to sing, the little creek behind my house is dried up, and the flowers on my deck are drooping in spite of regular drinks from the garden hose.
However, right now I'm listening to the wonderful sound of rain...aaah. How rain coming can change things. Tomorrow the grass will be greening up again, the flowers will be lifting those sunny pansy faces skyward, the creek will be gurgling and the birds might even start singing again.
One of the many biblical metaphors for the Holy Spirit is rain. I've been thinking about metaphors so much lately. What a beautiful image to contemplate! For people in a relatively dry climate such as the middle east homeland of the prophet Joel, the effects of rain can be especially dramatic. Having grown up near California's Mojave desert, I can attest that sometimes overnight blooming takes place and transforms the landscape.
When I was a teenager I traveled to Mexico on a short missions trip. While there I learned a rousing rendition of a song called "Manda la LLuvia" (I think my Spanish spelling is right?) Manda la Lluvia, Senor. Send the rain, Lord! I hadn't thought of those beautiful little Mexican children singing at the tops of their lungs along with me for a long time. But I can still sing the chorus in both Spanish and English. It's pretty simple.
Those children would be in their forties now...what a thought!
But we still need the rain, Lord.
3 comments:
I think it's an important element in life to be connected/aware of nature and it's changes. It is very sad that so many people live in areas that deprive them of this wonder. I can see you rejoicing Dorcas! (smile) Maureen
I live in a small town, but I only have to drive a few blocks to be in the country. And I am fortunate that while I have a small ranch house, I have a lovely yard with many trees and a little creek in the back, and flowers. It helps me in many ways. I am a city person, really, born in LA and growing up in smoggy Southern California, but I always loved nature. Hey, Maureen, thanks for reading! I started this blog mostly to help me with the discipline of recording things, but it sure is nice to lmpe someone is occasionally here with me. :-) And I just read that article in the Ooze...sounds like me all right.
I love those running water images in the Bible. And still water images too.
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