SUNDAY

The sky was darkening above us,

Our careful footsteps matched the soft pitter patter of water falling…

Loosening from the clouds;

The rain fell with a soft cool breeze

We continued walking, the group of us

Beside me she prayed for the heavens to hold back

But I spread my arms wide open and turned my face to embrace the impending downpour

The Church on a hill was nearing our view,

At that moment, all at once, the sky poured out a heavy burden on us

We ran for shelter wherever it could be found;

Some under trees,

While others pressed close to the side of cement houses,

I found my way shrieking and laughing into a small room, perfect for waiting out a storm

I met others there,

And we sang together in the rain; the spray welcoming itself in through the open window

In the distance we could hear drums

Drums coming from that little Church on a hill…

As we peered out the open window,

We saw steam rising from the rolling green hills,

Bending and swaying in the wind, the palms stood strong in the beautiful landscape set before us

Also there, we saw two young African boys were enjoying the rain as well

We saw them take off down the muddy road, wearing nothing at all as they ran with their backs to us

They quickly disappeared into the greenery…

And we decided to run too,

We stepped out of our dry shelter and ran,

Down the slippery, water washed dirt hill we ran

Into the plastic chairs of a beautiful Church with a roof but no walls,

A dirt floor,

With puddles of water,

With so much joy – we entered

We let our voices rise with theirs as our hearts lifted up praise to God,

“Thank you for the rain, Lord.”

Together we prayed that our own lives would be like that rain,

Bringing refreshment to our communities, and to the land we live on, in the name of Jesus.



It's a new year,

Orissa