Refreshing Rain

“Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.” Deuteronomy 32:2

I've been thinking about rain. Today my home town of Worthington encountered severe weather with tornadoes. While Alaska does not get storms like that we did have interesting weather ranging from sun, to rain, to snow and everything in-between.

This week has been busy in preparation for the church's 50th anniversary celebration. Long days and early mornings and it's all coming together. This afternoon I left the office but did not leave work. Errands in Anchorage for last minute items as final pieces of the puzzle.

Exhausted and feeling little desire to do anything but nap I ignored my fatigue and opted to go for a run. I put on a sweatshirt and shorts amidst the low 40 degree temperatures.

Photo credit: Google Images

As I ran the weather shifted. Cloudy, to raining, to sleet, to hard ice balls almost like Styrofoam shattering atop my skin. There is a saying in Alaska "If you don't like the weather wait five minutes". Well during my run it was more like "If you don't like the weather travel 1/4 mile". The mountains play a huge role in the weather. My running path parallels the Chugach mountains. When I was adjacent to a valley point of the mountains to my left, there was rain. When I saw a peak to my left it was snow.

Styrofoam-like snowflakes on my car window

This picture was not taken today but it does show how the clouds get "caught" in the mountain pass seen here clouds stuck at Hatcher Pass.

I continued to run, my lungs screaming with the cold air breathed deep. My run turned into a jog as I arrived near the Chugiak Fire station. The clouds settled low over the inlet as they bubbled with moisture. I bent over with my hand braced upon my knees and I breathed in that unforgettable scent. The smell of rain.

Sunset after the storm passes as seen from my doorway.

It is a life-giving fragrance, clean and laden with the promise of refreshing. It comes to us in the moments before and after a spring shower, a lingering reminder that God can wash away anything unclean, even the dusty residue of all the gravel from winter.

The precious rain beads upon my skin and coats the bike path below my feet. I stand in the rain and allow the heavy drops to descend upon my face. I am tired but refreshed!

Little buds starting to form. Finally spring in Alaska

I love the rain. I am sad that Alaska does not get Thunderstorms because I love them, but I enjoy the rain and everything that comes with it. The smell, the green, the hope, the life; just like God's Word.

Deuteronomy 32:2 says: “Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.” Sometimes my heart is like a drought. Parched. In need of refreshing. This new life in me yearns for moisture to soften the hard soil around my tender roots and the new growth that pushes upward. I need the rain. I need God’s word to nourish me like showers on new grass and abundant rain on tender plants. I’ve seen what happens when a tender shoot, fresh from the soil, shrivels for lack of water.

May we absorb the word of Word of God this day like a thirsty plant that waits for rain. May our hearts swell with refreshing as we immerse ourselves in the truth we find on the pages of scripture.

"The Bible is meant to be bread for daily use, not cake for special occasions"

-Unknown