Monday, July 27, 2020 After the Rain

We had a recent deluge of rain here, raining all night and into the morning.

I was reminded of Andrew Peterson’s song “The Rain Keeps Falling,” in which the rain is a metaphor for depression.

“I tried to be brave, but I hid in the dark
I sat in that cave and I prayed for a spark
To light up all the pain that remained in my heart
And the rain kept falling…”

I loved that song from the first time I heard it. I have struggled sometimes with depression – not truly deep and debilitating – but I get it.

“Well I’m scared if I open myself to be known
I’ll be seen and despised and be left all alone
So I’m stuck in this tomb and you won’t move the stone
And the rain keeps falling”

Toward the end of the song, a different voice is heard: “Peace, be still” and a note of hope is sounded.

“My daughter and I put the seeds in the dirt
And every day now we’ve been watching the earth
For a sign that this death will give way to a birth
And the rain keeps falling

Down on the soil where the sorrow is laid
And the secret of life is igniting the grave
And I’m dying to live but I’m learning to wait
And the rain is falling.”

The song ends with Peterson crying out to God for deliverance from this darkness, interspersed with the beautiful refrain “Peace. Be still.” The last word in the song is “Peace.”

I have been experiencing a lot of mental agitation for the last few months and I am craving God’s peace in the midst of this storm.

“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And He awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was great calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”

Why am I afraid? Have I still no faith?

Peace, be still.

Peace.

(A link if you’d like to hear the song: https://youtu.be/_TU2YW-6E3M. I actually recommend listening to the whole album, The Burning Edge of Dawn, since there’s a flow to the songs as they reflect a season of Peterson’s life and faith.)

I’ll probably delete this in the morning.