“The Lord does whatever pleases him,

in the heavens and on the earth,

in the seas and all their depths.

He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth;

He sends lightning with the rain

And brings out the wind from his storehouses.”

Psalm 135:6-7

Rain falling isn’t just a single sound

It is many

The pouring sound as water flows out of the downspout

Water hitting ground almost silently

Hitting wood louder it splatters

Hitting roof with thousands of tiny echoes

The whoosh of water being blown across eaves

The steady beat of rain on leaves

They blow and flutter

The soggy limbs sway from their movement

The tap tap tap of water off window

The distant rumbling of thunder

 

As the storm abates

The sudden silence

The grass a brighter green as the gray clouds slip by

Steady loud stream

And quiet trickles

The backyard gleams with wet sunlight

I venture outside

Sodden earth

The squish of mud underneath grass

Smelling of air and dirt and something sweet

Moisture kisses my skin

Leaves heavy laden and glistening

The sky now bright with blue

Decorated with white clouds

Not a trace of rain in them

And I reflect again how rain

At once a deluge

Gloomy darkness covering all

Can suddenly pass to reveal sunshine and blue sky

The sunlight revealing the shine the rain has left behind

The rain so necessary for things to grow

Without rain, sunlight would only reveal

Brown decaying things

And I remember the rainbow I saw last week

After being caught indoors in a torrent

Think of how Noah must have felt

His foot alighting on dry ground after so many months adrift

His whole world under water

The rainbow filling his vision

A beautiful promise

It has been one year since last we slept

In the familiar walls of 407 Amersham Lane

Trusting God for our future

Having no idea what came next

Overwhelmed and feeling somewhat adrift

As the clouds have slowly drifted

Revealing beauty from ashes

Tender buds pushing through a desolate landscape

It is not all blue skies

The rains still come

But we have seen and know

The tender kindness of the Lord

Enough to know there is no storm too great

We lift our faces to the light

For after the rain

The promise