Today’s find: Low-down

Our grandson, I notice, takes a unique approach to savoring rain.

…from the heavens the rain comes down…

Barely two-feet tall as it is, still he seems to desire a deeper intimacy with the raindrops. He squats down low to get up-close-and-personal with the precip. He gazes at the puddles forming on our deck with a remarkable sense of longing and fascination.

A bit later in the day, unusually warm weather made it possible for the two of us to sit on the front stoop and simply enjoy the rain. We missed having the chance to play outdoors, of course. But it was a blessing of a different sort to have our routine stilled by the rain.

We just sat, and watched.

The blessing of that quiet moment deepened when I went to Mass this morning and heard the first reading proclaimed. Check this out, from the prophet Isaiah

Thus says the LORD:
Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down
And do not return there till they have watered the earth,
making it fertile and fruitful,

Giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats,
So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth;
It shall not return to me void, but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.

‘I could do this all day, Gramps…’

Francis is a bit young, perhaps, to appreciate the new things that the Lord desires to do on earth – all the “ends” for which we are being prepared during this holy season of Lent. Countless possibilities, as numerous as the raindrops, soaking in the full measure of God’s goodness and power and providence.

Rush through the rain, though, and you might just miss all the good stuff that God has in store for us.

It really helps to slow down…and maybe even get down low…to let the beauty of the season seep in, drop by drop.

Let us pause now…to recall that we are in the presence of the Holy & Merciful One.

IHS