Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Rain, Rain, Go Away! “Rain, rain, go away; come again another day,” Question: When? For most of us there is no good day for rain to come. It cancels family outings, stymies outside games, and generally upsets our schedules. But rain depends upon perspective. For the farmer, with crops dying in the Field, any day is a good day for rain. And in our better, saner moments we all know that without rain the cycle of nature cannot happen and life becomes deserts. The other night I got caught in the rain. I went into a meeting, damp all over and completely wet in spots. 1 complained, but then a poem by William Stidger came to mind. He wrote: "IsawGod wash the world last night, and hang it out to dry." Now that's perspective! And even in my damp condition the rain that had drenched me seemed a bit less damaging. And then I remembered the last part of Stidger's poem: “I wish that He would wash me as white as that old birch tree.” As the Psalmist put it: "Wash me, and 1 shall be whiter than snow.” (Ps. 51:7) Copyright 1986, Keister-Wiiliams Newspaper Services, P O Box 8005. Charlottesville, VA 22906