He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills.
- Psalm 147:8, NIV
 
As most of us know, we have been in a severe drought for a while. Last I heard, we had gone forty days without significant rainfall! When I used my lawnmower last weekend to cut up and mulch the leaves on our front lawn, I was covered with dust by the time I finished because the ground was so dry.
 
For a while I have been praying for rain. The weather reports predicted that rain was finally on its way. Monday evening I awoke to hear the sound of water dripping right outside my bedroom window. It was a beautiful sound! When I got up a few hours later to let our dogs outside, it was incredibly refreshing simply to hear the sound of falling rain and to feel the cool mist on my skin. I said a prayer of thanksgiving to God for the rain.
 
Each morning I try to read through the lectionary passages from the Bible. Sometimes certain phrases jump out at me. The passages that talk about God supplying the rain made an impression on me the past few weeks. Not only was I thinking about how much we need rain and water simply to live, I began to think about our spiritual thirsts. I was reminded of the passage from Psalm 42:1 that says, As the deer pants for streams of water,so my soul pants for you, my God.
 
Physical thirst or extreme drought can remind us what it is like to feel a spiritual thirst for the presence of God. When God seems far away, we experience a "thirst" for God. Sometimes that requires us simply to wait until God makes himself known to us. Like most of us, I do not enjoy waiting, but I have learned that waiting is an important part of my spiritual life. Advent is often described as "a time of waiting." This Advent, as you wait, may God's presence fill the thirst of your soul!

Prayer for Today

Loving God, as we wait for the coming of Christ anew into our lives this Advent, fill us with the hope for the good things to come. We pray this in the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.