Into Each Life A Little Rain…

          As I’m writing this, a LOT more than a LITTLE rain has fallen into our lives here in our corner of the world. The basement pump is working overtime. Plans have gotten rearranged. The governor’s called for a state of emergency. I’ve been making calls to church members who live near currently raging waterways (such as the Merrimack River) and finding that, so far, all are home and relatively dry. So many in our region are not so fortunate.

          To think that, a week ago, we were perturbed about excessive dryness…reminds me of a prayer my father-in-law sent, many years ago. According to his introduction, it is a "prayer offered by a Connecticut parson during a mummifying dry spell in the summer of 1754:"

O Lord, Thou knowest we do not want Thee to send a rain
which shall pour down in fury and swell our streams and sweep away
our haycocks and fences and bridges; but Lord, we want it to come
down drizzle-drozzle, drizzle-drozzle for about a week. Amen.
I suppose we could’ve prayed this prayer last week.

          What I’m thinking (aside from the fact that God may not oversee the weather for every corner of the world) is that we’re awfully good, sometimes, at specifying our agenda to God. What we’re not awfully good at is praying our thanks for the very gift of life itself, and for the grace and strength to receive whatever comes to us as opportunities for faithfulness and witness to others.

          Whatever discomforts the recent deluge has brought to you, I hope that you are dried out and back to normal. Even more, I hope that God will teach us together to be resilient in our faith, seeking the blessing that may be hidden inside the clouds, grateful for the opportunities to stand with one another, and the world around us, as those who serve a risen Lord.

Peace,

Rod