The Rainy Day
The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains,and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.
My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains,and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the mouldering past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,
And the days are dark and dreary.
Be still, sad heart, and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
It is spring, and everyone knows that April showers bring May flowers.
Living on the West Coast of Canada, flowers start here in January, and continue until October. Rain also starts in January, and ends … on December 31.
I have strong feelings concerning rain. My feelings towards rain are not innate, I have not always felt this way about rain. My feelings towards rain were not nurtured into me, as I did not grow up hearing negative messages about rain. My feelings concerning rain are situational. I have lived on the Wet West Coast of Canada for almost sixteen years now , and I have developed a strong, well-educated, deeply felt conviction about rain … I HATE it!
Oh, I love the lushness of the flora that I get to see year round. I just do not love it ALL THE TIME. It (rain) has horrible effects on me. I get sleepy, grumpy, dopey, bashful and I feel I need to see the doc (only sneezy and happy are missing from my seven dwarfs of rain … well, when the rain stops, I do get happy … but, I digress).
Rain and I just do not go well together.
But, when the sun comes out, and the puddles dry up, and the flowers open, and I don my open shoes, I forget about the rain that had been dominating my every thought previously. Once the rains are out of sight they are out of my thoughts.
Rain is like struggle to me.
When I struggle, the struggle, and how to alleviate it are paramount in my thoughts. The struggle gets me down. It makes me sleepy, grumpy, dopey, bashful and … I feel the need to talk to my healer, my spiritual ‘doc’. When I struggle, I spend far more time on my knees, asking God for guidance, for wisdom, for healing.
But, when the struggle is over, and the the tears dry up, and my spirit lightens, and my soul takes delight in life again, I forget about the struggle that had been dominating my every thought previously. Once the struggle is out of sight, I forget the healer who accompanied me through the pain.
The healer does not leave me when I am struggling, nor does he leave me when I am through the struggle, and not as reliant on him. He is with me always … like the rains on the west coast. The shadows may at first glance be depressing, but on closer examination, they are evidence of the presence of his light. The cold rain at first glance, may be cold and damp, but on closer examination, they are evidence of the refreshment, the new life that he provides.
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,
neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39
” … behind the clouds the sun is still shining.”
itsawonderfilledlife 