Rain
Growing up in Minnesota, we always had to have alternate plans for weekend picnics in the summer. You never could count on the sun, so you had to have contingency for rain.
I was just in New England last month visiting some family there and doing some workshops at the NANPA Road Show in Rhode Island. It had been raining before I got there, rained when I got there, and rained most of the time I was there. The photo here is of a beach rose in Cape Cod, and it was raining when I took the photo.
For whatever reason, rain has rarely kept me from getting out and enjoying nature and even photographing in it (if you are interested, I am giving tips for photographing in the rain on my blog at www.photodigitary.com). There is a beauty there that is definitely unlike sunny days. Sure, you get wet, but it can be worth it. I usually won’t go out in pouring rain — that is too uncomfortable. But there are a lot of rainy conditions that don’t have pouring rain.
I know that New Englanders have been getting very tired of all the rain. And when it keeps coming, it can be a little depressing. Yet, rain is critical for life … and I do truly see some different and beautiful views of God’s world when I am out in it. (It does help to dress for the conditions and even take an umbrella!). It can be a quieter time, a peaceful time if the rain is not too hard … a time to relax and enjoy the world as it is.
It says in Acts 14:17 — “He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons.” Rain affects many things throughout the seasons.
–Rob Sheppard