Sunday, May 29, 2011

Rain- Of Reality, and the Mind

When it rains, it is both a blessing and a curse. One man prays for plentiful rains to make his crops grow and give him  a good food income this year. But another man prays for it to be dry so that it doesn't flood and destroy his house. We all know that the Atacama Desert in Chile is the driest place in the world, some places there having not received rain in over 50 years. To the people living near there, rain is a rare and wonderful gift. Yet on the same continent is the wettest and most tropical forests on the planet. The rainforests around the Amazon get close to +100 inches of rain per year. To them, the rain is a constant and common thing. It's always there, and when it's dry, it's hot and humid, so it's not even dry. When it rains in our minds, it can mean one of two things. One can be that we are "brainstorming" and are thus exercising the analytical lobes and areas of the brain, thus becoming faster and smarter. Another could also mean that there is a "cloud" over our minds and means that we are feeling sluggish and slow or are not thinking very quickly, and may even be quite tired or exhausted. But even then, those things are either directly applicable to our lives, reality rain, or are merely metaphors to describe our state of mind and personality, mind rain. But what about spiritual rain? The Lord constantly refers to a "seed of faith" that must be nourished and taken care of to sprout a strong testimony of the gospel. So this rain could be the "living water" or "water that gives life" to the seed in our hearts, thus strengthening our souls, minds, and hearts in the gospel. But, just as one man's blessing is another's curse, could this spiritual rain be a great storm of sadness that clouds and shrouds our hearts and minds in darkness and sorrow? It would explain the times when you see an extremely sorrowful and mournful person. They are merely drowning in the rains and floods that are happening within their hearts and souls. The thunderings and tempests and winds can ravage and destroy a person's will and strength. But then again, maybe this is just God cleaning up the stuff inside that you don't need so that you have a clear patch of earth to plant your testimony and faith. Then, there is another kind of rain. The rain of oppression and wickedness. When one steps into one aspect of sin, they are sprinkled with countless drops of other sins. Or when one is oppressed by the wicked angels of Satan, it isn't one angel. It's a massive host of those wicked ones trying to pull you down. It seems as though when one thing goes wrong in your life, everything goes wrong. So when it rains, it pours. And it never seems to stop. It only seems to slowly stave off until it is only a sprinkle. But there is another type of rain still. The rain of the mind, heart, and soul that is accompanied by the quakings and thunderings of complete and utter sorrow. When a woman weeps, it could be for a great many things. A woman in today's society is expected to be tender, loving, and kind, thus making it easy for them to be hurt and cry. So when someone sees a girl or woman cry, it's not much of a big deal. We comfort her, she stops crying, end of story. But when a man cries, it is a much more painful matter indeed. Men have acquired a pride in being tough, stern, and unshakeable. But, there are times when a man cannot control his emotions, and breaks, thus weeping horribly. A crying man is much more noticeable and is made into a big deal by many. But why is it that extreme pain or sorrow cause our tear glands to overload and begin pouring forth the salty tears? Could this be the only manifestation of the rains within that God has given us? Of course, this could just be a natural reaction. But, it could also be a metaphorical depiction of the rains within our souls and hearts that cannot be contained. Rain. Blessing, and curse. Healer, and destroyer. It seems that this is a good depiction of the Savior. A blessing to the saints, a curse to the wicked. A healer to the sinner, a destroyer of the sin. Indeed, rain is yet another testament to the divinity and authority of Christ.

2 comments:

  1. What if I told you that the verbs for "to rain" and "to cry" are very similar in the Romance languages?

    Spanish: llover ("to rain") and llorar ("to cry")

    Italian: piovere ("to rain") and piangere ("to cry")

    French: pleuvoir ("to rain") and pleurer ("to cry")

    Portuguese: chover ("to rain") and chorar ("to cry")

    etc.

    Pretty similar, huh?

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  2. The seed needs rain

    but not acid rain.

    ReplyDelete