Refreshing and Restoring

 

Finally, it rained. After a long drought, after 40+ days over 100 degrees in 2022, it rained. The afternoon sky turned dark enough for the lights to come on and it thundered and rained a hard, glorious rain.

It was amazing how exciting such a simple thing can be. It was as if all of us were children again. We stopped work and listened. We found our way to windows and doors and watched. It was the most excited I had felt in a long time. What a wonderful simple gift.

The prophet Ezekiel writes,”And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing.”

As a boy, one of my favorite songs we sang at church was based on this verse. “Showers of Blessing” had a peppy tune and to hear it surrounded in sea of singers made me happy. One verse in particular came to mind as I watched the rain:

“There shall be showers of blessing,

Precious reviving again;

Over the hills and the valleys,

Sound of abundance of rain.

Showers of blessing,

Showers of blessing we need:

Mercy-drops round us are falling,

But for the showers we plead.”

“Sound of abundance of rain.” The sound of the rain was at first confusing. It had been a long, long time since that sound was a part of our daily experience. We can feel that way about other blessings; they have seemed absent so long that we forget the sound and the feel of happiness or peace. But the rains do come, refreshing and restoring our lives.

Peace.