Water, Water, Everywhere

"It rattles softly at the window like the fingers of a child as I sit on the edge of the tub to tie my shoes. It comes down the glass in crooked paths to stir my heart absurdly as it always has, and dear God in Heaven, the sound of it on the roof...It is the rain, and it tastes of silver; it is the rain, and it smells of christening."
~Frederick Buechner, The Alphabet of Grace.

I woke up in the middle of the night last night. I was having terrible dreams. In one dream I waded through drifts of snow trying to keep my house safe from intruders, and in another I was floating at sea on a deflating raft. When I woke up, I could hear the rain falling outside my window. It soothed me back to sleep.

I love the sound of rain. I love what rain does for the world- cleaning it, making it greener, helping it produce food. It reminds me of my baptism. I imagine it as God's grace, tapping on my roof, soaking through my clothes, trying to get to me to wash me clean.

One of my favorite memories is going downtown with my friends every summer to go to the Taste of Chicago. We joined millions of people feasting in the streets. One year, the sky was dark and low with rain clouds. And then suddenly they opened and drenched us all. It was so much fun, and when I got home, I felt cleaner and fresher than I ever had before or since.

Another powerful memory is when I came home from college one April to go to my Uncle Ken's funeral. He was my dad's brother, and a very beloved uncle and godfather. My dad and I sat together in a dark room and cried, and we listened to the rain pounding on the roof. I thought of it as God crying with us.

It's a gray day today, but I don't mind. In fact I feel so good, I didn't even need coffee this morning! The rain is washing away all the dullness of winter, soaking into the ground to help make it green. It is melting away the heavy drifts of snow. There are flowers blooming outside my window, with more promising to come soon!

In these changing days of spring, I am feeling so connected to the resurrection of Jesus. The tomb is empty, the stone rolled away. "He is not here, he has been risen" say the angels in Luke's gospel (24:5). Life follows death. Spring follows winter. Light comes into our darkness. I pray that you will find hope in Christ through God's word and through the reminders of resurrection God gives us in creation. Christ is risen. Alleluia!