Racoons and Rainbows
We had quite the downpour the other day.
Afterwards, as we looked out the sliding glass door, Ginger noticed a rainbow on the horizon. Then her eyes zeroed in on two silhouettes sitting at the top of a tree in the woods just past our backyard. Upon closer inspection, we realized they were raccoons.
It's nothing new for a racoon to frequent that tree (much to our hound's chagrin). But to see two sitting in the glow of a rainbow seemed quite special. So Ginger grabbed the camera and started snapping.
I'm not sure why they were up there together. They both appeared to be juveniles, so maybe it was a couple of cubs from the same litter just reveling in the freshly fallen rain.
If so, I can relate. I often revel myself when the rain comes, especially when it ends the dominion of a long dry spell in dramatic fashion like it did that afternoon. It rained so hard that puddles formed in the grass – and this, after weeks of a dusty brown backyard that had only just hours earlier crunched under our feet.
That storm really lifted my spirit. Now that might sound strange, but I think it makes sense because dry spells can be rough – on every level. Beyond physical droughts, we’ve all experienced other kinds of dry spells too. Maybe in the areas of relationships, creativity or work, we've struggled without feeling any inspiration or life. Harder still, perhaps, are the periods of spiritual dryness when we don't feel the Lord's presence and wonder where he is.
I’ve been there, with a soul that’s felt wilted, crackly and parched. It’s a challenging road to walk, but life’s adversities, trials and sorrows sometimes force us down that dusty road.
But the purpose of Lent teaches us something about these times of dryness. Lent, after all, is a season when we intentionally step into a desert of sorts. And why do we do this? Probably for a number of reasons, but I think one of the most important is so that our desires can be directed more fully toward God.
In John's Gospel, Jesus beckons those who are spiritually thirsty to come to him so that he can provide a living water that always satisfies.
Friends, we don't often know the purpose of the deserts in our lives as they happen. But through them, I believe God wants to increase our thirst for him.
Would you take a few minutes this week to meditate on the excerpt below from this Sunday's Old Testament reading? As you do, allow God to remind you that he'll meet you in your desert with the living water of his very presence.
Fr. Darin+
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
The wild animals will honor me,
the jackals and the ostriches;
for I give water in the wilderness,
rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
the people whom I formed for myself
so that they might declare my praise.
(Isaiah 43:19-21)