Searching for Rain

“Rain clouds, come down!

Come down and furnish dry stream beds with water and fill, fill at last the low lakes for our needs.

Leave pools in the rocks, too, for wild creatures’ comfort, for foxes and wild cats, road runners, and jays.”

~ Miriam C. Anderson (From The First Rain of Autumn)

Our quote for today comes from my Great Aunt Miriam’s published works of poetry entitled, “Window in the West.” When I was little, I was absolutely astounded that someone in my family had their own book published. Before I could read, my grandma would read me the poems in this book, The First Rain of Autumn always being my favorite. I could connect to it because I loved when it rained in the fall and I felt like her poem created the feeling of autumn rain within me. When I was a little older, I would wait for the first rainy day of the autumn season every year and read this poem once again.

This autumn, as I read Aunt Miriam’s descriptive words on a rainy day, the above-quoted stanza relates to me in a different way than in years past. It feels like a teacher’s plea. It feels like my soul is yearning for renewal and refreshment, and I am not alone. Like so many other teachers, I have days when I feel like the dry stream bed in the poem, running out of energy or time or solutions. Perhaps the nourishing rain clouds will roll in soon. Today, it’s Friday, and this weekend, I will be looking for the raindrops of joy, kindness, and laughter all around me. I will watch for how my low lakes may be filling. I will create space for my soul to receive rest and rejuvenation. Will you join me?