"Rainy Days of the Spirit"

I can't take credit for that phrase...it belongs to Kathy Harrison of "Just In Case" fame. When she uttered, or rather typed, that phrase, it really struck me. Do you ever have those 'rainy days of the spirit' type days, when you just want to give up? When your burdens feel so heavy that it's all you can do to roll out of bed and put your shoes on? As a 'modern-homesteader', I feel that way fairly often; that it would just be so much easier to quit, eat Wonder Bread and boxed meals and burn my clotheslines in effigy. Sometimes I feel like it's all for nought...that no good, no change will come of our trying to work the land, raise hens, grow food. Sometimes I wonder if we're doing our children a disservice by teaching them that progress isn't always a step forward...sometimes progress is a step back. I've had my fair share of 'rainy days of the spirit'.

Rainy days have such a bad reputation, you know? The ruination of yard sales, little league games and family reunions; turning backyards into mud slicks and flooding basements. But as a dear friend pointed out, rain is what makes the gardens grow. It fills our wells so we can have running water. It freshens the air and washes away the dust and grime that collect during those sunny, happy days.

What if rainy days of the spirit do the same thing? Serve to fill our wells of thought and water our blooming ideas. Wash away the grime and dust that we overlooked when things were bright and happy. Could it be that spiritual rainy days take a barren landscape and make it fertile again, with deep thoughts, rich ideas and hope for the next sunny day? Perhaps they give us a quiet time to sit back and reevaluate what we're doing and where we're going.

Maybe it's not possible to really appreciate sunny days without a few rainy days mixed in, to wash away the muck.