in the rain

I was caught without my umbrella the other day ... just 150 metres from home ... so no big drama.
But as I stopped before crossing the road, as I let the rain soak my clothes and blur my vision I was struck by the rarity of the event ... I couldn't remember the last time I simply allowed myself to experience the rain without being protected by coat or cover or rushing to escape into some sort of shelter. It was a novelty but it made me realise how easy it is, especially in urban living, to become separated from the natural environment.

With good cause you might be thinking, especially with so many extreme weather events in all corners of our labouring world. But even before tornadoes and hurricanes and forest fires and floods began to make almost daily appearances on our news media, in many places especially in the 'developed nations' we'd begun to be shut off from normal exposure to rain, sun, wind and even the earth itself.

I look at my closet - raincoats  [short and long], wind-jackets, umbrellas, boots, scarves, gloves ... and on another shelf there are sunhats and bottles of sunscreens of varying strengths, gardening soaps, nail brushes and grass stain removers. These all have a place of course and we do have to dress wisely for outdoor conditions, but it seems as if increasingly we're having to protect ourselves from the consequences of our own mishandling of the earth's resources -  and in doing so we're at risk of  losing that sacred connection with the created world which was part of the divine gift to humanity. We're at risk of becoming alienated from what is supposed to be life-giving, instead of being able to enjoy the elements of nature, and live in harmony with them.

We're all invited to share God's delight in the natural world and in the ongoing process of creation. And we can start with the simplest of moments.

So next time you find yourself without an umbrella and it starts to rain, maybe you'll let yourself be present to the experience ...

and -  just maybe - you'll go searching for a puddle to jump in !