Rain

As I sit here in my office typing, the rain is falling heavy outside the window...and forecasts call for it to continue till tomorrow at least! It's one of those Fridays that makes us all want to just stay in bed and start the weekend early!

For me, living on the Potomac (fortunately on high ground) has made me more in tune to the effect of rain on out waterways. And being on a well has made me think about the water table (which heretofore I'd hear about in school but seemed like some ethereal water deposit).

As I drove into work this morning, I glanced at the river which has already been a bit high from the melting snow, and wondered what the next couple of days would do to it. The canal and towpath has already suffered from the high waters of the season, and more flooding may prove disastrous (you'd be surprised how expensive it is for them to repair a breach--it has to be done a certain way).

I also noticed other effects of the rain mixed with the already-soaked ground. Trees whose roots have just barely held their ground have given way and power lines along our road sit perilously close to teetering trees. Rocks has washed onto road ways, and for us this is particularly concerning because portions of our road pass under rocky outcroppings...and you know what gravity does to falling items. The ground around us is largely rocky, and so in most areas, the soil is only enough to give a solid (sometimes meager) covering to the rock. Indeed, the compound at camp has such shallow soil that the tent company we used for the reception brought a jack hammer just in case they had to drill into rock to set the stakes. BUT once you get a good anchor into rock, your foundation isn't going anywhere. Indeed, some of the older buildings around, actually, have incorporated the giant rocks into their foundations. The trees that fall easily are the ones who roots go only into the shallow soil on top of the rocks. But sometimes, if you look closely, you will realized that there are some trees whose roots stand the test of time, wind, and rain--they are the trees whose roots are intertwined with the rock.

In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus tells a story of being on different types of ground:

"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!"

At our Wednesday Lenten study this week, we finished our study of the second of three rules of John Wesley: DO GOOD. We talked about the difference between talking about doing good and actually DOING it. And how our actions always have and always will be our most powerful testimony about God. So I like that Jesus opens this parable saying that those whose house is on rock are those who hear AND DO what he teaches.

So as the rain falls today and throughout the coming weekend, let it be for us a reminder of the importance of building our lives on the solid foundation of hearing and obeying God's call on our lives and God's direction in all our choices. After all, this IS a time of spring, new live and renewal. The rains will come, so we ought to be prepared that we might not only endure but thrive.