Rain

It rained yesterday...I had almost forgotten what the earth smells like after a nice, long, soaking rain. Not just a sudden, dramatic shower which can be exciting in its own right: the sharp, violent flashes of lightening followed by the deafening thunder, no, I mean a soaker. The kind that woos the ground with tender drops of liquid love that seep in, not a beating, pounding rain that runs off before the ground can respond. Sometimes our hearts need a long, lingering, soaking rain, don't they? You know the kind...the kind that makes you think of feather mattresses, clean, sun-bleached linens and open windows...the kind where you hear the steady, soothing sound of the rain through the screen as it plays on the roof...the kind of rain that drenches the breeze with summer as it lifts the sheer curtains and wafts over you. A renewing rain. A revitalizing rain. Not the kind of rain that hurts you as it beats down on you with unleashed ferocity, pummeling you into bending beneath its power. No, the sweet, inviting kind that falls on uplifted faces and raised arms. I had almost forgotten how to step outside and dance in the rain, celebrating nothing & everything. Yesterday Jesus took me gently by the hand and danced with me in the rain as He kissed my bruised feelings and sipped my tears and whispered to me of His unchanging love. It rained yesterday. I love the rain. I am LOVED.