Its raining on this early Sunday morning. I awoke to the rhythm of the rain beating on the rain barrel outside my bedroom window. The sound of the rain is like a slow meditation. It reminds me of the nourishment that water gives to all living things.

Mississippi has a wet spring most years. Spring gardens are planted in mid March and the rain showers help the young plants grow quickly. The parsley and basil in my garden have already been harvested twice this spring. The wonderful fragrance and flavor have been added to my food many times. It is a time of pure enjoyment to the taste buds.

The rain showers have an effect on the soul as well. They act as a calming reflection on the drama of the day. Each slow dripping of the rain is a reminder to take a deep breath and relax.

Later in the day the slow rain will turn into a thunderstorm. There will be lightning, hard rain, and perhaps some hail. These storms remind me of the drama of life. It is like watching life play out on a live stage.

The first scene of the storm will be the thunder. The loud boom will be accompanied by bright and colorful lightning. This echoes our lives in this realm of existence. There will be issues that are on the horizon. The thunder is the warning of the issue and the lightning becomes the intensity. When the lightning is flashing around then the issue may be small and resolution will be quick. The issue will surround us but there will not be pain. After it is resolved we will not remember that anything has affected us. The issue is insignificant.

When the lightning begins to strike then the issue becomes deeper and more difficult to resolve. This may be a time in our lives when the soul is shaken by disease or loss of someone we love. There may be great pain to overcome and solutions not so obvious. Each strike is a deep wound to the soul. We feel helpless and may have lost the hope that life will return to normal. There is great sadness during this time.

Next will come the hail. Hail is caused by the water being frozen in the atmosphere and then falling to the ground when becoming too heavy to remain in the sky. Such as in life there are issues that churn in our lives and become so heavy that they must come to the surface. The issues may be small and come to the surface pea size or become larger and appear as a baseball size. They begin to beat down and cause damage to the soul. This scene may last for a moment or extend through a great length of time in our lives.

The amount of damage to our lives is dependent upon the size of the issue. Smaller issues are resolved and the damage is limited to one part of our lives. Other larger issues can cause hard damage so that we may never fully recover from them in this life. Larger issues may also affect the people around us. Their interactions with us change. Some people may support us. There will be others who will leave and never return.

The thunderstorm has reached the point where the heavy rains begin to fall. The rain beats down and covers the hail. The issues of life are now weighing heavily on our souls. This is when the others around us attempt to hinder our efforts to recover from the hail. These people may be purposely trying to prevent resolution of the issue. Often this takes the form of gossip about the issue. People will enhance the story for effect or invent a story to propel themselves to the center of attention.

There will be other people truly trying to help with the issue. Sometimes in the process of helping these people will hinder the resolution of the issue due to a lack of understanding.

Suddenly the rain will begin to slow down. There will be a steady rhythm like the beating of a drum. The steps taken to resolve the life issue will begin to work. The drama will begin to cease and there is hope on the horizon. People around us will begin to feel comfortable again. The damage has begun to be repaired.

Finally the thunderstorm will pass. In the horizon there will be a rainbow to remind us that the soul is nourished and renewed. There will be beauty in life again. We have weathered the storm and are loved once more.

copyright 2017 Debbie Pierce