Several people in my family love rainy days … and I have to admit, I don’t.
I don’t like driving in the rain when I can’t see the lines in the road.
I don’t like having to be out and about in the rain when my shoes get wet.
I don’t like what the rain does to my hair. Don’t ask. It isn’t pretty.
Yeah, rainy days make me grumpy.
But then, I read novelist John Updike’s quote: “Rain is grace.”
And those three words reframed my thoughts about rain and rainy days. Because grace? Grace is what I long for … grace refreshes my parched soul. Grace is freely given to me. To everyone. Rain falls down to the earth freely, upon everyone — the “just and the unjust,” as it’s said. (Matthew 5:45)
Rain refreshes, as does grace.
Rain descends down to us, as God reaches down to us … walked among us so that He could understand us.
Rain gives life, as God does, who gives life like no one else and nothing else does.
In Others’ Words: Do you like rainy days — and if you do, why do you? If you don’t, why not? And do you agree with John Updike that “Rain is grace”?
In Others' Words: When Rain is Grace http://bit.ly/2JLqd4o #rain #grace Click To Tweet 'Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without the rain, there would be no life.' #Quote by John Updike http://bit.ly/2JLqd4o #perspective Click To Tweet
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Comments 15
Too ill to say anything coherent, so I’ll turn thing over to my friend Roger Hodgson (with Supertramp) for a musical trip down memory lane, with “It’s Raining Again”.
Author
Praying for you, Andrew — but I always appreciate the themed musical interludes.
Hmmm, I grew up in the Pacific Northwest where it rains a lot! Later, I lived in Vancouver, B.C., Canada where one June it rained 28 of the 30 days. You get a bit weary of rain after that many days BUT I also recall many drier periods where rain visibly refreshes and restores plants almost while you watch–like grace does us–so I like that quote and will embrace it next time I think it’s raining “too much”. We can never have too much grace!
Delores Topliff
Author
Yes, Dee. Yes. We can never have too much grace. 🙂
Be the rain, and bring the Grace.
Author
Oh, Andrew, I love this. I absolutely love this, my friend.
Ok, I can get behind this! Beautiful picture!
Praying for you, Andrew.
This is me: a pluviophile is more than just someone who loves rain. According to the dictionary, a pluviophile is someone who finds joy as well as peace of mind during rainy days. (I cut and pasted this.)
I love “rain is grace.” What a perfect day to receive your message since it’s pouring here.
Author
Ah, Kim … you are a pluviophile. And so are some of my family members, apparently. (And now, I am going to call one of them a pluviophile. This shall be fun.) 🙂
rain washes away the dirt and leaves behind a clean slate
Author
I love the way you put this, Denise.
Cold, grey, rainy days tend to cast a grey-ness over me. They chill to the bone, wreck my hair, and draw my battery down to 3%. They are part of the dormancy of winter that tempt me to forget the hope of spring.
Spring rains nudge me back to hope, and summer rain smell amazing! Add some flash and thunder boomers, and I’m pulling up a chair to the picture window.
Too much rain all at once, and the rivers can overflow to a devastating degree, no matter the season.
So, it appears, my thoughts on rain are mixed.
But I do love Updike’s picture of rain as grace. We’ll see if it helps come November.
Author
Bernadette: One thing is for certain: I’m always thankful when you join the conversation here. 🙂
Beth, we must have been on the same wave length this week! I’ll give you one guess what word I wrote about on my blog last Monday:
http://writingtoinspire.blogspot.com/2018/06/complex-grace.html
I must say, I’m one of those folks who love rainy days. They are so great for snuggling up with a great book, but I often end up mesmerized by the rain dripping down to water the earth. God showers us with rain so that our flowers and trees and veggies will grow strong and beautiful for us. I hadn’t heard the quote about rain being grace, but I really like it. Thank you so much for this article!
Hugs!
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