Recently I bought a book to help me at work called Wow! Our Amazing Planet – A cross- curricular conservation resource for RE teachers (ideal for KS1 and 2) written by a friend of mine. I was reading it to improve my knowledge and in it I read about pigeons! Pigeons are not a particular favourite of mine but they can be amusing to watch. I learnt that they don’t drink like many songbirds do, that is by filling their beaks with water and tipping their heads back. They drink by sucking up the water.
Another adaptation that some birds have such as black-headed, common gulls and lapwing is to imitate the sound of rain falling on the ground by tapping their feet on it. This causes the unsuspecting worms beneath to think it’s actually raining and as they like moisture, rise nearer the surface and get picked off.Our longing for water is both physical and spiritual. We long for the rain as human beings to water our parched crops or we long for it to go away like recently due to flooding our homes, destroying materials and the dreariness it seems to conjure. We also long for the spiritual rain to refresh our dry souls.
The Bible speaks about water frequently. Look up rain, water or other moist nouns in a concordance. One gospel story speaks about this matter. The woman at the well discovered that Jesus would satisfy her thirst. Thirst is such a powerful thing and is best quenched by water. When we sit with Jesus and suck up his water like the pigeon, feel the vibrations of his presence like the worms or just swim in the river of his delights like all water creatures we become alive.
“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. Just as the scripture says, “From within him will flow rivers of living water.’” (John 7:37-38 NET) is not just a throw away phrase it can be our reality as we drink deep from his well.Rain can be a sign of refreshing. Frank said the other Sunday when Jesus comes he can make us uncomfortable if the rain makes you uncomfortable think what it is doing clearing out the debris, unblocking channels, releasing dams which can hinder his work. Let the rain do its work in your life.
