Every time I got comfortable in the porch swing today Father Sky would tell Mr. North Wind a joke and he’d laugh till the clouds came rushing back covering the sun, cooling the porch with his cold breath. Then the men friends had the audacity to invite Old Man Winter over to Father Sky’s library for cigars and brandy. When the old men lit their cigars and clinked their brandy sniffers their cigar smoke clouded the sky and covered the sunset pageant with a curtain of aqua white clouds.

Now I feel the wind moving freely and powerfully through my neighborhood. In the Bible the wind is a symbol of the Holy Spirit and I can feel God’s presence today in the soft lullabies and the strong clanging symphonies of the wind chimes. The Holy Spirit moves in mysteries ways and the wind chimes sing a song that God’s presence is carried on the wind today. The soothing quiet melodies of the wind chimes are a reflection of God’s divine nature, a gentle reminder of God’s presence in our lives. We can’t see the wind and we can’t see God but we can feel the peace and tranquility of God from the sounds created by the wind as it caress the wind chime pipes.

If you do a little research, and I love to research, you find that wind chimes can be interpreted as the sound of God’s voice. In 1 Kings 19:12 we read that God spoke to Elijah in a “still small voice.” A whisper likened to the soft soothing music of the wind chimes. Wind chimes can encourage us to listen for God’s voice in the quiet moments of the day. Heavy wind chimes’ symphonies speak of God warding off evil and bringing good luck. We can be a wind chime for God, quietly connected with the Holy Spirit as we express our faith through our words and actions. God calls us to work together as Christians just like each pipe of the wind chime contributes to the music. When God’s wind blows we can ping our faith softly or clang our faith loudly. Joshua L. Liebman wrote, “God hears no sweeter music than the cracked chimes of the courageous human spirit ringing in imperfect acknowledgement of His perfect love.” I love that quote.

Today’s rainy overcast afternoon, gives time to relax and reflect in my lady den as the raindrops and the wind and the wind chimes compose a euphonious yard symphony. George Santanya said, “The earth has music for those who listen.” And boy does she have beautiful music! Today I heard music from the bamboo’s thin stems and fronds rustling in the wind, from the long lonely melody in the wail of a train traveling down the wet track, from the raindrops playing drums and singing on the metal roof next door, and from the loud banging tintinnabulations of the wind chimes when Mr. North Wind laughed. If it wasn’t raining, I’d hear an everyday symphony of swing chains squeaks, bird songs, wind chime pings, train whistles, the “kuk kuk” of gray squirrels fussing, and a glorious classical music concerto, featuring the sun as the soloist, only I’d hear her music in my mind, from the beauty of the sunset.

There are so many beautiful quotes about rain. Emily Logan writes, “Rain showers my spirit and waters my soul.” The calmness of rain washes away worries and replenishes our soul just as the rain nurtures the earth. Michael Bassey Johnson calls the rain “nature’s tears of joy.” Never thought of rain as nature’s tears of joy. But when it rained forty days and forty nights, I wonder if Mother Nature was crying tears of sadness while flooding the earth with her tears? I love Langston Hughes rain quote imagery, maybe it’s my favorite rain quote. Makes me remember letting my grandchildren run around in the rain dressed in just their underwear when they were toddlers. They were thrilled as the “liquid silver drops” kissed their sweet little faces and bodies. Hughes wrote “Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby.”

The rain waters the Earth and washes it clean, fills my bird baths and the creek behind my house, washes the dust off our cars, refreshes and nurtures Mother Earth. Our tears wash us of sorrow and highlight our eyes with a sparkle of joy. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote, “Into each life some rain must fall.” Life will always have rain and storms but we have God’s promise in the glorious rainbows stretched across the heavens. As Dolly Parton says, “If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”

Water cleans the earth as tears clean our soul. “Sometimes God allows us to cry for tears to clear our eyes so we can clearly see the good things ahead,” Afternoon Word. I think God is moved by our sorrow and prays we turn to him for comfort. The imagery of God collecting our tears in a bottle moves my heart and tells me each of our tears is sacred to him. Scripture in Psalm 56:8 reads, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” Our tears are prayers, too, traveling to God’s ears when our emotions keep us from speaking.

Don’t be afraid to let your tears fall. Tears of happiness make our hearts sing. A good cry will make you feel better and ease the burden of sorrow or worries that cloud your mind. In the Bible Isaiah tells us that God’s words to us are like rain to the land when it’s dry. If we don’t nourish our faith through our prayers and thanksgiving, our faith will wilt like a garden without rain. Open your heart and let God’s grace restore your soul. God will pour his love and blessings over you like a rain shower.

“There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues.” — Washington Irving