Becoming the Rain

Last updated on: March 1, 2020 at 10:21 pm by Meghann Robern

Becoming the Rain 2020-03-01T22:21:49+00:00 Meghann Robern

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Rain. photo by Moyan Brenn. (cc) 2012.

What would it take for us to become the rain — single drops, each of us, overwhelmed by the magnitude of putting out a raging fire. And yet, when joined together, we become a downpour, extinguishing fires of hate and injustice. One of my Jewish colleagues, a rabbi at a local synagogue, taught me a saying that has become essential to my spiritual life these past few months. “Pray as if everything is up to God. Act as if everything is up to you.”

Prayers. photo by Dawn Ellner. (cc) 2009.

Prayer

Prayer, of course, means different things to different people. And maybe you’re not the kind of person who finds prayer to be very useful in your life. But I would offer up that because prayer can take so many different forms, and that one of those forms is to act as a direct conduit to our conscience, that maybe it’s not so irrelevant to all of us in these times.

The Sikhs go to daily prayers because they believe that hearing and chanting the words of the Guru Granth attunes them to the needs of the universe each day. Prayer can be engaging with our personal gods, or with our still, small voice. However your personal spiritual journey has, and continues to unfold, prayer is not about quieting and soothing the mind, like meditation, but rather is about actively engaging your inner self to help choose the course of your outer life. UU religious community offers up a mission, and shared values, to help guide us in this constant discernment.

Pray as if you are part of something bigger than yourself — a world that encompasses far more than one person’s experience. Act as if loving that world, and all the people in it, begins with you.

Untitled photo by K V Kamaljith (cc) 2009.

Our religious communities are sanctuaries. That means they are places where those who need safety are met with protection. That those who have been hurt and battered outside our walls will find healing. That those who are tired and weary will find rest. That those whose voices have been silenced will be encouraged to share their stories. That those who are lonely will find companionship. That those of us who have learned that we are worthy of love just because we exist, will in turn teach it, show it, to those of us still struggling to love ourselves.

May it be so.

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