Let It Rain

 

“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”~Dolly Parton 

I heard some rumbles one evening this week and ran out in excitement. Even the smell of rain was aromatic. Only a few drops of rain fell and then the clouds moved on. Sigh.

Yes, it seems we are experiencing a drought of sorts in parts of Kenya this ‘should-have-been short rains’ season. Nairobi has been dry and dusty and thirsty for a few showers, even if it’s just one big shower a week. (May the Rain-Giver hear me please.) For once, I miss the cold and the grey mornings and my sweaters. It’s been hot for too long and my heart is crying out for a change.

When was the last time your heart pined for something that was out of your control to give but you held out hope against all odds that heaven would soon hear you and send back a positive response? When did you last look up to the skies and see granite and like the Psalmist cry out “How long? Will I wait forever?” I watched a beautiful sunrise on Tuesday and just couldn’t help but remember the promise that no matter how long the night seems, the sun will surely rise in the morning.

The artist Sade sang a line that resonates with my longing: “And I miss you, like the deserts miss the rain”. I don’t know how exactly deserts miss the rain. . .have they ever met the rain? But I do know that my longing for a weather change is probably just as intense at this time.  

And indeed it is not dry throughout the land; some parts of the country are experiencing a lot of rainfall. So why don’t I just go where it is raining? Because it’s not just the rain that I miss: it is watching the rain from my window. It is listening to the sound of the rain as I curl up on my bed. It is meditating to the sound of happy birds and softly falling showers. It is trying to navigate my way out through the mud and puddles on a path that was recently dusty and dry. Oh rain, did you lose my address? I can send you a pin this time 👀.

What do you do when that prayer goes unanswered? What happens when shut doors are all you encounter? Complain, get impatient, get bitter and bad mouth? Do you have an anchor that keeps your soul steadfast and sure as the storm rages? How do you hold on to hope or where else do you turn when hope is deferred and your heart is sick? For the rain, I continue to hope, to pray, to hold on to hope.

“Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life.”~ John Updike

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