Yesterday felt like the first, perfect summer day—probably because I spent it with my precious granddaughter. But also because it’s been rainy and/or gray around here for what seems like weeks, New England’s version of climate change.* Welcome, sunshine!
In mid-afternoon my granddaughter and I went to a shady park near my house where the older children ran in and out of jets of water sprayed by the park’s sunflower-shaped sprinklers. Not quite ready to join the delighted, screaming throng, my almost-two granddaughter hung back to quietly watch at my knee. A deep, male voice behind us, speaking with a middle-eastern accent, I’m guessing, commented on what he saw: “Water is everything.”
Yes, it is. And you—humans are 50 to 60% water—don’t have to be from a rain-parched part of the world to appreciate the depth of that man’s statement, do you!
Let’s let someone else from the Middle East have the last word: Rain righteousness, you heavens, let the skies above pour down; let the earth open to receive it, that it may bear fruit of salvation with righteousness in blossom at its side. [Isaiah 45:8]
* Bill McKibben re climate change in New England: “Rainfall is becoming steadily more intense — if we aren’t getting more rain in total, and we probably are; it is definitely coming in more concentrated bursts than we tend to deal with.”
Dear Patricia,
Hello, there, Patricia! What a beautiful blog post article this is of yours, as well as your other very inspiring and Spirit-filled ones! It sounds like you and your granddaughter had such, such much fun at the shady park, and that she had fun in the healing and fun, comforting water once she I think overcame her initial shyness toward it and the older kids. The gentleman at the park said such a true and accurate statement in his observation, “Water is everything.” Water is indeed everything, a life force, a healing balm, but literally and figuratively, physically for our very survival and life to drink it daily and often, and emotionally and on a spiritual level.
I love land and the countryside which I get a lot of where I live now in Iowa, but I also love water-lovely and magnificent bodies of water to look and watch-to get lost in in its hypnotic in a good kind of way currents and waves. I love the Bible verse which you quoted, Patricia. Rain in the figurative and spiritual sense can indeed rain righteousness by cleansing our hearts pure in healing and blessings. Rain also pours down from the sky, our Earth receives it in its welcoming embrace, and nature and flowers blossom from rain’s creative force. We, too, as human beings blossom from the powerful water because we need water to live, to drink daily and often, and also to use in other ways to help us get through our daily and earthly tasks in life.
Patricia, your lovely and well-placed words in your empowering and inspiring blog post articles and book just make my day, my white sister as an ally and in solidarity from me your Christian lesbian black sister! I am so, so uplifted by you, your words of comfort in the Spirit, and it is my great joy and blessing (and you are such a blessing, Patricia) to read and enjoy your Spirit-filled words in your blog post articles and your book! I thank-you so, so much for you and your gifted words! You are indeed a gift and a blessing, Patricia!
Please have a very nice, special, and a blessed day, Patricia! I love also the beautiful and scenic pictures which you put with your spectacular blog post articles! Just so fabulous, magnificent, and fantastic!
Very Sincerely Always,
Sherry Gordon