rainy day

Yesterday, in Fresno, it rained.

This is the first time in many many moons that it has rained in Fresno. Here, they have a thing called “first rain”, much like the Midwest’s “first snow”, where you have to be careful driving and many people get in accidents because they have forgotten how to drive in that weather. It was very bizarre to look out the window and see rain coming down and puddles in our yard. The last time I saw rain was in Colorado at the end of July, roadtripping out here with Jess.

I did not like the cloudiness. But everyone was quite excited: my host dad was happy and put on the special relaxing morning music, the kids had rainy day schedule at school and went out to play in the rain after school, we curled up with warm clothes and hot drinks, I made chili for dinner because rain requires soup. Their excitement rubbed off on me, and I did like the rain noise on the roof.

At work, everyone wore raincoats. I, in my Midwestern pride, decided that California rain could not be very bad and therefore I did not need a raincoat. I got very wet. I remembered my roommate who hated getting the hems of her pants wet in the rain. I remembered my polka-dotted rainboots, in the closet in Illinois.

At FoodMaxx, which is in the hood, I got out the umbrella from my car. Then a guy made fun of me for being a high-maintenance girl who now had rain gear: “Ooh, look at her getting out her umbrella. Wanna share with me?” At which a little extra moisture got in my eyes, because I was having a bad day, and that was just not the time to mess with me, buddy.

Last night, as I wore a long sleeved shirt for possibly the first time in Fresno, my host dad and mom and I talked about my bad day. My host dad said, “It will get better. Just like the paper says the sun will come out tomorrow, this will get better.” Then my host mom made fun of him for being cheesily profound.

But, it is true. It will get better. God keeps his promises. We think things getting better is like the sun coming out (and it is). But in the Bible, rain indicated things getting better. God promised as surely as the sun rises, he would come like the winter rains to water the earth (Hos. 6:1-3). Just like he promised: streams in the wasteland, water in the desert (Is. 43:18-21). And then it downpoured in Fresno. Rain in the Bible was a good thing, and it is a good thing here in the Valley, too. So even though yesterday’s rain was icky and made me wet, rain is God keeping his promise. So he will also keep his promise that the sun will come out. Things are gonna get better. And in the meantime, it smells like rain.