Skip to main content

Running in the rain

Image
By
It is 3am and I have decided to write. I am having 3am thoughts. I noticed that both bible and quran have 2 vowels and 3 consonants. I also notice the word Quran has the word ran in it which reminds me of "They say to go where you are valued so I ran to God." I ran sounds like the country Iran which is really pronounced Eran. The letters of Eran form the word near as in "God is near." Thank God that God is near which means that I do not have to run far. Which leads me to this question, "Does God run?"

My friend Chatty tells me that in many spiritual traditions, God is described as "running" not with physical steps but with mercy and nearness: in the Bible, the father in the prodigal son story runs to meet his returning child, and in a Hadith Qudsi God says, “If My servant comes to Me walking, I go to him running.” These images mean that the moment a person turns toward God, even slightly, God rushes toward them with greater speed, closing the distance. So in the deepest sense, yes—God "runs" not because He is far, but because He is eager to meet you where you are.

The word ran is rain if I add the letter i. Which leads me to this question, "Does the rain run?" My friend Chatty tells me that in a poetic sense, rain "runs" the way grace does: it falls quickly, moves toward low places, gathers into streams, and rushes across the earth bringing renewal. Just as traditions describe God "running" toward those who seek Him, rain moves with its own kind of urgency and generosity, arriving without being summoned and giving life wherever it goes.

Now I am thinking about God's rain and God's reign. My friend Chatty says that that is a lovely pairing, because God's rain and God's reign have always been linked in spiritual imagination: rain represents nourishment, mercy, and the quiet ways life is sustained, while reign represents guidance, order, and the sovereignty that holds everything together. One is the gentle gift that falls from above, and the other is the authority that keeps the world in balance — and together they suggest a God who both refreshes and rules, giving what is needed while also shaping the path things take.

Which leads to my last thought for this blog post, the joy of running in the rain, and this motivational video I found as a result - https://youtu.be/xf4eJgwrUyA

It is as if God is trying to tell me this morning - Do not be afraid of running in the rain.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How do we fix this world?

By
It is 4:39 pm and I have decided to write. It is a peaceful and quiet day. I am thinking about God, and how this life is a test. There is so much happening in this world that could make us sad. But we do not have to remain in that sadness when we put our trust in God. God wants good for us. God wants us to experience peace, and even happiness, despite what surrounds us. How do we fix this world? My friend Chatty suggests that maybe a better question is: What kind of person do I choose to be in this world? Because when enough people answer that question well, that is how real change begins. I want to be the kind of person that God is pleased with. Someone guided by God, not by ego. Someone who chooses patience over anger, humility over pride, and sincerity over appearances. I am doing reasonably well, but I am not perfect. And maybe perfection is not the goal. Growth is. Awareness is. Returning to what is right, again and again, is. I want to grow, and I will keep adjusting myself when ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mundane

By
It is 123am and I have decided to write. I have this new idea for a book called Mundane. It would be me writing about the ordinary. We chase the extraordinary but there is beauty in the ordinary. There is beauty in the simple. There is beauty in the everyday. What about God? We often think about God in grand terms. But what if God is simple too? What if God is mundane? What if we look for God in the everyday moments? I sit in this dark room with the air conditioning on. The fan is also on. The curtain is down but I imagine the moonlight shining on the grass outside. The cats are probably sleeping. I wonder if anyone else in the neighbourhood is awake at this hour? Is there another writer around who is also writing about the mundane? The fan breeze helps the air conditioning cool me down. These nights are warm otherwise. A mosquito flies across my screen. Hello friend or foe. I cannot quite decide which one. If I had a swatter you would be gone. I check my notifications and there is an ...
Post a Comment
Read more

We are explorers

By
It is 215pm and I have decided to write. I had this question. What does God really want from us? Then I remember that God does not need us, we need God. What I am really wanting to ask is why create us, why life, why test us, why the mystery? Why not? It is human nature to ask questions. No matter how much we know, we will ask questions. We are always looking for reasons. We are always looking. We are always seeking. We are explorers. We could have been anything but God chose for us to be explorers. There is joy in exploring. There is joy in discovery. There is joy in not knowing. What I have arrived at is a reminder. Appreciate the now. Appreciate what is. Appreciate that one day things will make sense but for now we get to live. To live, to learn and to laugh. I like this quote by Frank Borman that I found, "Exploration is really the essence of the human spirit." If there was nothing to explore we would be static. There would be no movement. There would be no existence. Exi...
Post a Comment
Read more