Rain

 Call it what you will I call it rain
When troubles come and pat against my soul
Go in if you like, I will remain
And let the washing waters make me whole

Just when I’m sure that I can't bear the rain
A tiny leaf starts pushing through the ground
In a place where the soil was too dry to sustain it
A new tiny flower can be found

 - Sara Groves, “Rain” from Past the Wishing 1998

Rainy Day

It’s raining today.  This would not be our first blog about the rain.  We love the rain here.  It is relief and life, cool breeze and refreshment, the scent of soil, the cleansing of dust, the cooling of hot stones left long in the kiln and radiating their own waves of heat finally cooling to the touch.  

But today we’re thinking of another aspect of rain.  The one that pushes us indoors and away from community.  The one that disrupts travel and turns roads into rivers, damaging bridges and asphalt, flooding and fouling.  The rain that shows the cracks in what seems like a well-built house, as water drips from the ceiling.  The rain that makes the fisherman tremble and paddle for shore as fast as possible and causes the large ships to rise and fall, rise and fall, their great hulks like bits of cork on the water.

These two descriptions of rain are not really so different.  It is a matter of perspective.  When I am safe in a secure home I can look out on even fierce winds and heavy downpours with a satisfaction and joy.  The rains have come!  They will wipe away the filth, and draw away the heat, and give life to the plants.  But it is different when you are out on a boat in bad weather.  It is simply put… miserable.  It’s also different when your vacation plans—the day at the beach, the picnic on the hill, the fun in the sun—are ruined by hurling rains and blowing gales.  Perspective has a lot to do with it.

New leak in house

All these thoughts brought to mind a Sara Groves song, quoted above.  That rain can be be both troubles coming and troubles washing away.  A blessing and a trial.  A mark of suffering to come and a promise of hope as well.  Sometimes we can’t bear the rain, but at the same time it brings new life.

In a meeting with island brothers we were speaking about glory.  One brother said, we spend so much time thinking about the need for change, we miss the reality of glory revealed.  But glory is revealed through suffering.  There is no glory without suffering.  Glory comes from entering the journey and persevering through the hardship.  It is only at the end, when the battle is won, the troubles endured, the sacrifices made, when love and righteousness have overcome evil and adversity—then there is glory.  And that makes me think of rain.  When the storm has passed, there is life.  Sometimes we can watch the storm from a comfortable room behind glass windows and watch the rivulets of water pour off of the roof.  Sometimes we are caught out in the middle of it.

“Go in if you like, I will remain
And let the washing waters make me whole”

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Thank you for praying for our trip. We made it safely to the French Island and the seas were mercifully (even miraculously) calm and none of us got sick. It has been good to reconnect with our colleagues here and prayerfully dream about the future of work on this island. We also had the chance to share at a school run by like-minded friends. The two of us were able to get a booster shot while here and our daughter got her first shot too.  (Unfortunately no pediatric doses were available for our boys.)

Arrived on French Island

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Pray for calm seas and stomachs again for our return trip back to Clove Island. The return is only 3 hrs during the day (rather than 10 hrs overnight on the way here), but that’s still long enough to get sick! Continue praying for our medical teammates waiting for approval to start work— not sure what the hold-up is and whether this delay is a blessing in disguise or a sign of a greater impediment. Pray for the work on the French Island— the situation here is complicated and very different from our island and needs a different approach. Pray for more workers for the French Island!