Rapture Watch

The First Drop Of Rain – Seattle Rain

Part 1, Section 1

By: Leslie Parrott

Here in Seattle we think a lot about rain. Actually I don’t need to think much about rain – I nevercarry an umbrella and rarely pull on a coat – but rain is an ever-present part of the landscape, my reality. It’s a steady companion, a gentle mist that follows me, day by damp day.

Rain, with its dark skies, gray days, and dreariness, isliquid disappointment. Rain is a symbol of ruin, a catalyst for corrosion, acreator of rust. We steel ourselves, stockpiling resources for a rainy day.Discouragement dampens our spirit, and no one likes to hang around a wetblanket. Rain is a pain, a bother. Our children sing, “Rain, rain, go away,come again some other day.”

Yet this is not the whole story. In the forty-fifth year ofmy rain-drenched life, I have come to see rain as compelling proof of God’sgracious, giving nature.

An absence of rain turns a place into a desert, a wasteland.If you’ve ever been parched and felt faint and studied the horizon for thesmallest sign of hope, then you know the feeling. You know the feeling of hopeat a softly darkening sky, the sharp-sweet scent of wet air, and thetransparent but tangible first drop of rain.

That first drop of rain begins a transformation from hungerto fruitfulness. Rain streams down from clouds like banners across thelandscape of your life.

The rain in Seattle is soft today, something between adrizzle and a mist. It’s not showoff rain like the magnificent storms from mychildhood in Kansas. It’s a continuous slick soundtrack to my life. Most daysit’s so familiar that it fades into the background. It’s not until I find astill, introspective center that I am captivated by the rain. My eyes followdrops outside the leaded window, drops that sparkle and shine as they form,fall, slide, and gather in shifting, mirrored pools. Each drop holds eternity –from cloud to ground and back, world without end.

A professor once told me that nothing can belong to us, evenour own experiences, unless we understand it. I watch my life with my eyes. Itouch it with my fingers. My mind considers and my heart longs. Across thelandscape of my interior, truth coalesces and I begin to understand. As I writemy stories, I begin to understand.

Each drop of rain is ancient and new. “If there is magic onthis planet,” says Loren Eisley, “it is contained in water” (The Immense Journey, 1957). Rain is themystery of God’s presence and God’s absence across the landscape of my life.

To Ponder

1.      What comes to your mind when you hear the word rain? Is it positive or negative and why?

2.      When you hear that nothing can belong to us,even our own experiences, unless we understand it, what do you think?   Do you agree? Why or why not?

Rain? I like it only at night when sleeping, love the sunshine in the day. For some reason rainy days I always have equated with sadness. probably from reading too many secular novels in college. 

Nothing can belong to us, even our experiences? Pretty deep. But it's true. We are the only living beings The Lord created with a vast vocabulary. So when we share our experiences with others we share our lives. This communication is vital to humans, otherwise we'll become lonely, feeling like we're alone. 

Great answer!

For me, rain makes me think of refreshing. I feel that this life, for me...has been like a desert wasteland with seasonal showers to sustain me.

Regarding the second question... I am reminded of a verse:

Proverbs 20:5 "Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out."