Rain in Abundance

“Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad; you restored your heritage when it languished; your flock found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.” Psalm 68:9-10

Today is Day 64 of Dispatches From a Suburban Parson During a Pandemic, and I’d like to begin with a question:

Do you get the feeling that 2020 just doesn’t care?

Last night in our neck of the woods we experienced rain on a nearly-noachic scale. Well, obviously that’s a bit hyperbolic. There can’t be forty nights of rain in a single night. But it felt like it. Particularly as we stood in our basement, watching water flow in under the basement egress door. With our yard flooded and the drains overwhelmed, there was nowhere else for the water to go. Fortunately, we simply moved everything out of the way and watched the rainwater run into the drain in the basement floor and back out into the world. Nothing was damaged. Still, at some point we’re going to need to have some work done. I bet it will be super inexpensive!

As the water flowed across the floor, I looked at Erika and said, “Well, I suppose this water can remind us of our baptism, too.” After all, it’s not always calm, placid water that God chooses to use.

Our psalm for this coming Sunday praises God for delivering the people from Egypt and journeying with them through the wilderness to the Promised Land. In doing so, God had brought them through the waters of the Red Sea. God had poured down rain in abundance to meet their needs as they traveled. Water, in all its chaotic, unbounded power being turned by God to meet the needs of God’s people.

The water doesn’t always go where we want it to go. Likewise, God’s grace has a way of working itself past the barriers we erect – in our own lives and between ourselves and others – to wash away the vestiges of sin and death. Grace, like water, finds a way.

I hope your homes aren’t wet this morning. I woke with a keen sense of gratitude, knowing that our problems are definitely of a first-world nature. We didn’t suffer damage; I hope you can say the same. If not, I hope and pray the clean-up process isn’t too arduous or costly. In the midst of it all, God’s goodness continues to abound.

Stay dry. Be well, friends. You are loved.

“Holy God, like rushing waters your grace and mercy flood creation. Help us to depend on you alone, trusting that you will lead and guide us. You have always been faithful to your people; help us show our faithfulness through praise of you and service to our neighbors in need. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Image: Our yard last night, completely underwater. We were one flash freeze away from a hockey rink!