by Christine Sine
Yesterday I went for a walk in the rain with our golden retriever Goldie. I bundled us both up in our raincoats, pulled my hood over my head and took off, – head down intent on avoiding puddles and complaining under my breath at the inclement weather.
Halfway through the walk my attitude changed. I started remembering the delight of walking in the rain as a child, not afraid to get my head and my clothes wet, loving the feel of raindrops on my face and the brisk beautiful feel of wind and rain on my face. So I threw back my hood and for the rest of the walk I relished the delight of rain. I came back feeling refreshed, renewed and uplifted.
This walking in the rain I realized is a very spiritual thing.
Ready to walk in the rain
The Delight of Rain
Evidently rain is good for us not just physically but emotionally and I suspect spiritually too.
Walking In the rain lifts our spirits. Have you noticed that whereas standing inside watching the rain pour down makes us feel grumpy and depressed, getting out and walking in the rain actually lifts our spirits? Raindrops on our faces and wind in our hair, makes us feel alive and renewed. There is nothing more invigorating than the smell of rain after a long period of dry weather. And evidently there is a reason for that.
Bacteria, plants and even lightning can all play a role in the pleasant smell we experience after a thunderstorm; that of clean air and wet earth.
Known as petrichor, the scent has long been chased by scientists and even perfumers for its enduring appeal. (Petrichor: Why Does Rain Smell So Good? )
God has designed us to appreciate rain and to be enlivened by it.
Rain is a miracle that helps us see the world and the people in it differently. It changes our view of reality as though we are looking through a different lens. Familiar places look different. Well known people look different and in the midst we sometimes catch different glimpses of God – a God who provides the miracle of rain to refresh the earth so that the crops will grow, and people will thrive. –
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He does wonderful things that confound,
infinite numbers of miracles.
10 He gives rain to the earth,
sends down water to the fields;
11 He lifts up the downtrodden, bolsters the bereaved,
raising them to safety. (Job 5:9-11 The Voice)
Rain teaches us acceptance. Rain is indifferent to our plans and our desires. I remember once praying fervently that God would stop the rain… because I had planned a picnic for that day. And guess what the rain did not stop. God (and the rain) were indifferent to my self-centeredness. It helped me to let go of my best laid plans and expectations of the day.
Rain represents something beyond our control, like the absurdities that happen in our daily lives. Accepting things as they are and choosing to continue to go about our business of living life in a positive mood leads to greater happiness. (The Benefits of Walking In The Rain)
More than that walking in the rain helps build stamina and resilience preparing us for the less than ideal conditions that we experience in other parts of our lives too. It takes more effort to walk in the rain, especially against the wind.
Rain provides a place of solitude. I love to walk with my husband and with friends, to talk and share moments of delight as we walk, but I also love the aloneness of a rain filled walk that isolates me into a secret world of my own thoughts. This is particularly true of an urban walk through usually noisy and crowded streets which have suddenly become a quiet refuge that you have all to yourself.
Rain cleans the air, and for those who live in heavily populated urban areas this might be the most healthy time to get out and explore the neighbourhood.
What Is Your Response?
Is it raining where you live? Consider a walk on your own outside to enjoy the invigorating effects. Lift your face to the wind.
Feel the rain in your hair and the wind on your face. How does it make you feel? Are you aware of God touching your spirit in the same way that the rain is touching your face?
Taste the raindrops landing on your tongue. Imagine them cleansing not just the air around you but also your spirit and your soul. Is there something specific that needs cleaning in your life that God is prompting you to consider?
Look around you – what do you notice that looks different? Is there something that God would speak to you about through that difference?
Listen for the voice of God in the silence. In the uncluttered space without traffic noise is there something that you hear God saying to you?
When you get home watch the video below, spend some time in prayer and journal about what you heard God say.
6 comments
Twice in the morning while giving out tracts door to door, it began to rain. Instead of going home in it, I thought. “I’m going to get more rain going home, so I might as well complete it. It was summer and I had something on my head so it felt good to stay in the rain. (I say that I need
something on my head is because I so not like the rain on my glasses.)
Sunday night at church the message was about the rain in the Scriptures: former & latter. God
promised His people going into the Promised Land, He would send the rain to let them be
prosperous in their farming If they would obey His commandments. When, I heard it, I thought about the song the Gaither’s wrote. “It’s beginning to rain: hear the voice of the Father saying
‘Whosoever will drink of this water’. ..If You’re thirsty and dry look up to the sky: it’s beginning
to rain.
After a rain about 3:00 PM when moisture is still in the sky, On occasion, we can see a rainbow.
It is like a prism or the working side of a CD, you can see it. God made light with colors with
different wavelengths. when separated to form the 7 colors. I write this because my mom taught me this song: “God put a rainbow in the sky. We all can see it if we try. No ill can harm you.
No foe alarm you because God made the rainbow in the sky” We know that this was the sign of the covenant to Noah that He would never send such a flood again.
I love all these colors because I love gardening. So, the beautiful flowers and some fruits & vegetables such colors can be seen: Some of the wavelengths are absorbed with
those reflected off that makes the different colors.
I no longer can grow plants, but, I can see those at church who wear colorful attire.
You may know that blue= truth, yellow= fruitful since fruits are yellow and divinity like gold
that God loves so much His temple and tabernacle were full of it. Red is Christ’s blood.
green is new life like spring. purple is royalty: “We are a royal priesthood.”
white is when all wavelengths are reflected off.
Black is when all wavelengths are absorbed. Black is so important because we can read especially, the Bible.
So, I tell each person that the colors they wear reflects what I have written. I tell them wearing black that it is like they are reflecting that they reflect the love of
God that you can absorb. Many of these people also are wearing white, so they can reflect
God’s love like I have written above.
Thanks Herbert
Thank you for sharing that lovely piece. A timely reminder of the simple things in life, the importance of nature, and God’s bounty. I love walking in the rain, and it is indeed a spiritual exercise and so beneficial in many ways, and you’re right – it does take me back to my childhood days. An absolutely lovely article that lifted me up as I read it. Many blessings, Tadhg
Thank you for your very kind words Tadhg. I appreciate your feedback very much.
Thanks, because of this message I walked in the rain yesterday and today. When I gave out my Christian tracts door to door, I was in the rain. It is 80 degrees so I could give them out wearing short sleeve shirt. I have a deadline to pass them out on Halloween day. So passing them out is needed today. 10/26. I put them in sandwich bags so they will not get wet.
Thanks again for this message. I am in the process to give out “All Saint’s Day” tracts as an alternative to Halloween. This is !0/30. This means that now, I can finish tomorrow on Halloween day. I gave them out in the rain: thanks to you! I had a golfers hat that got so much
water that I was able to squeeze out water. The temperature was 76 degrees: tolerable wearing a long sleeve shirt. So far I was able to give out 250: As I wrote you: 1 time in the rain.
I like the song. “Rain drops falling on my head”. Was is sung by Englewood Hupperdink? (sp ?)