Downpour

He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Matthew 5:45b

Yesterday, just before the sky broke open and unleashed the proverbial torrential downpour, two women came into the clothing boutique where I work.

These two women are friends from way back. We got to talking and looking at clothes and before long they were in the fitting room together and I was handing them clothes through the open door. Only one of the ladies was actually trying on clothes though, and I soon learned that her friend (let’s call her Tasha) lost her husband of thirty years just two months ago.

Tasha sat slumped on the bench in the corner of the fitting room. Tears formed and spilled over into her lap, just like the rain outside. Tasha’s friend (she can be Nikki) said, “But we’re getting through this. We are doing this together.”

There was no, “Don’t cry,” or “It’s going to be okay,” or efforts to distract from the grief that weighed heavy like the rain which pounded like marbles being dropped on the roof above us. There were harsh words about loneliness, and hope cut short. We cried together and, right in the middle of it all, I had a raging hot flash and had to take out my fan and Tasha and Nikki told me their secrets for living through menopause and we tried on more clothes and talked about our husbands and food and marriage and children.

And we laughed. Our laughter was loud and it rose up from the soles of our feet and right through our lived-in hearts. We hugged each other tightly when they said good-bye. There were no neatly tied ribbons or happily ever afters.

My shift ended not long after that and I walked to my car through the rain, without an umbrella. I walked right through puddles that nearly covered my ankles and I felt heavy drops land on my scalp. I took deep breaths and let the water soak my neck and drench my shoulders and wondered why we’re always running from the rain.

Something To Think About:

Who is your “Nikki”? Who goes through the rain with you?

Something To Do:

Stand in the rain. Dance in it. Lift your face toward the sky and let the rain wash over your face.

Prayer:

Lord, not one of us escapes the rains of life. Help me to be a “Nikki” to my friends when needed, and please don’t let me take the “Nikkis” in my life for granted. Thank you for friends who stand with me in the rain. Amen.

Explore more at the Theology of Work Project online commentary: What is Righteousness?