6 “Come, let us return to the Lord;
    for it is he who has torn, and he will heal us;
    he has struck down, and he will bind us up.
2 After two days he will revive us;
    on the third day he will raise us up,
    that we may live before him.
3 Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord;
    his appearing is as sure as the dawn;
he will come to us like the showers,
    like the spring rains that water the earth.”

In Oregon we know rain.

At least, in the valley we definitely do.  It is what we say most about living in Oregon. “It’s great. It rains a lot!”  A friend of mine visited from Ohio a couple of years ago and everywhere we went we mentioned we would go to the coast pretty soon and everyone we encountered said, “Oh gosh, it rains at the coast!” It has become a joke of ours that when we talk, we mention that it rains at the coast in Oregon.

We kind of pride ourselves about knowing rain around here.  Those of us who are true Oregonians definitely do NOT use an umbrella. If you do, you are just showing off that you are not from around here.

I grew up in the valley.  Rain has become somewhat of a comfort for me.  I don’t dream of white Christmases because we only had one if we went to Medford that year to visit family. Otherwise it is a damp Christmas for us!  When it is dry for too long, I start to get a little cranky.  The green is only vibrant when it is raining around here and I love the color.  I looked outside this morning to find dreary rain and drab skies and smiled.  The world is as it should be right now….wet.

On days when I am also dreary the rain is comforting and cozy.  I can wander around in the grey and feel as though the world hears my cry.

On days when I am positive and excited about life, I see the vibrant greens and notice the sun breaks when they happen.  I get to relish in the comfort of dry places and lean into the knowledge that the world needs the water.

Hosea likens God coming to rain coming and watering the earth.  Hosea’s waiting is not for a flash of lightning but spring rains…refreshing, watering, full of new possibility.  Rain becomes present everywhere when it falls. God will be like that when God comes.  And God will come when we turn back to God, recognizing the rain.

I am ready for that kind of rain this season.  After reading, kind of obsessively, about the Eric Garner news, I want God to show up all over the place.  I am yearning for God to be present, create peace and justice, and coat the earth with refreshment and new life.

I am waiting for God to show up and transform what could be.  I am ready for God to fall on us so that we can’t ignore the light that God will bring.

I see glimpses of that water…in conversations had last night around the table and in community that gathers to respond.  But I am so ready for the deluge.

And still we wait…

Are you ready for rain?
Peace,
C