Hope Rain.

It rained today.

Now, to you, that might not sound like a big deal.  But it is dry season.  It hasn't rained in months.  Everything is dusty and dry.  And I got home from school this afternoon, after a long couple of days, laid down in my bed and heard the sound of rain starting to patter against the roof.  And I smiled.

Now, rain and I have a history.  I asked a LIFT friend one summer what emotion she associated with rain.   I think more along the lines of how does God see rain.  Weird question, I know.  Is it a sad thing?  And for the two of us, it had seemed that every bad day we had that semester, it rained.  And it just fit with how we were feeling.  But on the particular day that we were having this discussion, there was a warm, summer storm brewing.  And the skies opened up and it began to rain.  And not just a sprinkling...a downpour.  The two of us had the same idea at once.  We just took off running down the beach, right in the middle of it.  Clothes on and everything.  And in that instance, it just felt freeing.  It felt like renewal. And as granola as I'm about to sound, it was a moment of connecting with creation.  (Side note- if you feel like reading something interesting to that affect, read Chapter 2 of Rob Bell's Sex God.)
All that to say, I have this thing where I think the rain can elicit and connect with a myriad of emotions.

And today that emotion, for lack of a better term for it at the moment, was hope.

Let me go back a few steps.

Yesterday was one of my toughest days here in Guatemala.   I received news that my grandma had been rushed to the hospital and was having emergency surgery.  Her health has been deteriorating in the past few years, and the doctors were concerned for her even making it through this surgery.  I was scared.  And I was hundreds of miles away and by myself.  And it was terrible.  I felt helpless. 
I spent the whole day just waiting for news. 
And praise the Lord, when the news came, it was good news.  But only after a heavy day full of thinking and worrying and praying on my part.

So today, when I heard that comforting sound of rain hitting the roof,  I was just reminded of hope.  Just as the land was probably sighing a breath of relief as it soaked up the much needed rain,  I was renewed with peace of heart and-- hope. 
Rain.  Hope. 


I'll write about the rest of the Valentine's Day shenanigans tomorrow :)