I took a stroll to the mail box just in time for a summer shower. Once I got back up to my front porch swing, I was taken with how the sound of pouring rain in the woods is so similar to the sound of a waterfall. Rushing to the ground, it slides over the leaves. There is a hiss as the air gets heavy with moisture, and the grass smells sweet. The birds’ songs stop temporarily as if they are listening too.
The sprinkle turns into a sudden deluge bringing the roaring sound of moving water with it. If I close my eyes it is hard to tell the sound apart from that of a waterfall. I can imagine the water throwing itself over and plunging to the pool below. It crashes on rocks, and takes flight jumping from ledge to ledge until it finally reaches its destination. When rain falls from the sky it moves from leaf to leaf instead of ledges, but the effect is the same. Great amounts of water going from high to low, crashing into anything in the way. One drop of water does not make this sound on its own, it is the culmination of a multitude of drops which creates the surround sound rumbling. It soothes my soul. The rain, the waterfalls, all of it… just releases the tension in my shoulders causing me to breathe deeply.
The smell of the forest in the rain draws me out into the shower to hold my head back and stick my tongue out. The complexities of life are swallowed up in the childlike abandonment to the rain. You can only do this in the summer when the air is warm and the showers are short. It washes off the grit and grime of life leaving the air and the little girl fresh and clean. For a few moments all is right with the world and nothing else matters but the feel of the rain on my face. When the shower is over I am drenched, but happy as a lark, until I have to brave the air conditioned house in search of some dry clothing. The message in the summer shower is to embrace the simple things, and live in the moment. Soak in the sound of many waters…

And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like the sound of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory. Ezekiel 43:2