“Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make music to our God on the harp. He covers the sky with clouds; He supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills. He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call.”
Psalm 147:7-9
Kenya is in the midst of the rainy season --- and what a rainy season it has been. “ Mvua ilinesha ningi sana!” (Mm-vew-ah ee-lee-nyeh-shh-ah nee-ngee sah-nah) The rain, it has fallen very much!
Perhaps more so in Africa than anywhere else in the world, rain is seen as a blessing. We have songs in the U.S. that equate rain with sadness –“ Rainy days and Mondays always get me down” – “Here comes that rainy day feeling again.”
But in Africa, songs that speak of rain are joyous, inferring the blessing which the rain brings.
If it rains on your wedding day in the U.S. it could be disastrous – in Africa it is said if it rains on your wedding day, your marriage will be blessed.
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| Mudslides at Rift Valley Academy near Nairobi picture courtesy of RVA staff member. |
This season there has been flooding --houses and people swept away, roads washed out and mudslides; still, there is no shadow of gloom upon the onset of rain – it is a blessed event.
Even as we thank God for the blessing of the rains, we pray for those who have lost their homes to flooding, those plagued with malaria, and those who have experienced loss due to the excessive rain.