IN FAITH
Singin’ in the Rain…I love a rainy day!
There’s something wholesome about a refreshing rain that washes everything clean. And I enjoy the way nearly everyone scurries about trying to avoid getting wet and the humorous scenes of people struggling with their umbrellas. No one lingers outside in the rain so the world seems less crowded and more at peace.
Now I’m not ready to join a cast of Singin’ in the Rain, but there are feelings of joy and security as one watches a steady downpour from the shelter of home or office. I love a good thunderstorm, too. Although our dog, Toby, would disagree strongly if he had but the courage to come out from under a table or the closet amidst the flashing lightening and booming thunder.
Many movies contain music written about rain. There’s my favorite, the 1952 musical mentioned above starring Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds and Cyd Chrisse. Perhaps the most popular musical was the 1964 film, My Fair Lady. After several entertaining song sequences, Eliza (Audrey Hepburn) and Professor Higgins (Rex Harrison) conquer her pronunciation problems, and celebrate with a dance to The Rain in Spain Falls Mainly on the Plain. And B.J. Thomas wrote Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on my Head made popular in 1969 as the theme for the film, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford.
Here’s something not well known sent to me recently by a good friend. The message is unexpected and adds to my thought about rain:
One rainy afternoon I was driving along one of the main streets of town, taking those extra precautions necessary when the roads are wet and slick. Suddenly, my daughter Aspen spoke up from her relaxed position in her seat. “Dad, I’m thinking of something.”
This announcement usually meant she had been pondering some fact for a while and was now ready to expound all that her six -year-old mind had discovered. I was eager to hear.
“What are you thinking?” I asked.
“The rain…” she began, “is like sin, and the windshield wipers are like God wiping our sins away.”
After the chill bumps raced up my arms I was able to respond.
“That’s really good, Aspen.”
Then my curiosity broke in. How far would this little girl take this revelation? So I asked…”Do you notice how the rain keeps on coming? What does that tell you?”
Aspen didn’t hesitate one moment with her answer. “We keep sinning, and God just keeps on forgiving us.”
I will always remember this whenever I turn my wipers on.
As the psalm reads, “Out of the mouths of babes…” (Psalms 8:3). If “the rain is like sin,” then everyday there’s a lot of sin in many places throughout the world. Sometimes the evil can be disastrous with wars and cruelty, like when too much rain causes flooding and landslides. There is blinding rain, too, which, like sin, keeps us from seeing the right path we should be taking. Maybe we enjoy “rain of sin” too much –lingering with temptations – finally slipping and falling into sin. Even a steady, drizzling rain can add up to a lot of water damage just as continually committing venial sins can mount up and weaken our resistance to serious sin.
All sin has the power to drag us down therefore, we should do everything we can to avoid it. Sin dulls us, and dishonors the life of God in us. What’s worse, it dilutes our ability to receive the power and fruits of the Holy Spirit in us, causing us to lose our “saltiness” (Mk 9:50).
Nobody likes it to rain when planning outdoor activities, but, unfortunately, we can’t control the weather. Eventually it will rain. So, we plan ahead and make the best of it. Like the approaching rain, we know “raindrops keep fallin’ on (our) head,” and we often will be bombarded by temptations to sin. Each one of us needs to develop practical ways to combat sin. And if a practical strategy isn’t apparent, we have only to ask the Holy Spirit for guidance. If we seek shelter in the Lord, He will help us overcome the storms of evil. And should we slip and fall into sin, as Aspen said, God does keep “wiping our sins away.” But it’s not automatic! We have to turn the wipers on to clear the “windshield” of our souls. We have to turn, repent and seek God’s forgiveness with a sincere heart. “Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away…” (Acts 3:19). Forgiven by God we indeed can appreciate the lyrics of Singin’ in the Rain:
“What a glorious feeling,
and I’m happy again,
I’m laughing at clouds
So dark, up above,
The sun’s in my heart
And I’m ready for love.”
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