Rain

A confession: rain makes me feel really sad, and spikes anxiety in me.

Yes, I know that is completely irrational. And yes, I have spent the past week in a rain-drenched field with 15,000 other people (another thing that overwhelms me is crowds; despite the rain and the crowds, New Wine is the highlight of my year, which I hope you understand is really saying something).

And as I am walking to work for the first time in just over a fortnight, it starts to rain. And then the rain becomes a downpour. Bouncing off the street. Turning the uneven pavements into lakes. My jeans are soaked through.

I’m sheltering in the University under-pass.

And I have a choice. To embrace my sadness, rather than resent it (for the past couple of generations we’ve made a big mistake in trying to avoid or at least displace certain emotions, rather than dialogue with God about them). And to worship God. To sing songs in the rain, songs that turn my heart to him.

It isn’t easy. It takes discipline. Which is a good thing.