I love summer in New England. Let’s be honest, I love any season in New England. But something happens when the snow melts and things start to bloom and it gives way to average temperatures in the high 70’s. The beaches are full and outdoor seating feels like the right choice. We spend our weekends walking outside and eating more ice cream than we should (in fact, New England eats more ice cream than any part of the country) and I can never get over the beauty of this place.
Maybe it’s the iconic shoreline or harbors or the marsh or the way that I feel like I’m living in a Lands’ End Catalogue. But whatever magic rises to the surface and touches everything in the summertime, I am here for it.
Last year, there was a drought. Our once-a-week-or-so rain just didn’t show up. Yards got brown and it felt like the coolness that once settled on the area just didn’t exist. Still, we managed with our beach days and walks and lobster rolls. But this year? It won’t. stop. raining.
I’ve tried to be patient. I’ve tried to remind myself we need the rain. But parties are being canceled and events are getting moved and plans are constantly changing because sometimes it rains for ten days in a row. And while that might be helpful in the long run, it’s really cramping my summer style. I do not like this much rain.
Honestly? It feels like I’m missing out. Like I’m being ripped off. Like I’m getting the scraps or this season is a wash. That I was a fool to hope that things wouldn’t change and maybe it’s best if I don’t get my hopes up that summer can be magic. Why would I ever believe that things can work out?
Or maybe, that’s just my heart bringing deep-rooted fears to the surface. And it’s not about the rain, but what it represents.
Why hope that rain will stop when it just keeps raining? Why make a plan for the beach when it’s just going to change? Why hope for things to go right when I’ve been proven wrong over and over again? I am at the mercy of nature and my nature is not to believe for good things. It is my nature to be guarded and slow to hope.
So when summer arrives and I, someone who might just be solar-powered, am met with rain and cloudy days? I feel a part of my heart go numb. I sense a bit of myself shrivel up. I sit inside and get quiet and find myself frustrated. I abandon hope.
The Bible is full of barren women and wayward children and exhausted parents and broken marriages. It is a chronicle of shattered hopes in the things that once made people feel safe or certain. I think of Naomi who, when her husband and two sons die, says that she left her hometown full (with a family) and God brought her back empty. She calls herself bitter. She refuses to hope.
Still, God provides for her and cares for her. Even in her loss, she is seen. Even in her lack, she is fed. Even when she renames herself Mara (which means bitterness), the book keeps calling her Naomi because her identity is not the bitterness she has encountered.
Yesterday, it stormed. Today, it’s sunny. And tomorrow it will storm again. But by the grace of God, I keep clinging to this truth: God is good. And He does not change. So He could not be better if I had a sunny, dry summer. He could not be better if everything went the way I wanted. This rainy, stormy summer is His good plan in action.
My prayer for the next month or two is to wake up in the morning and dare to hope that good things happen indoors and under umbrellas. That friendship can still grow and community can still be built and Scripture can still bring me home. Because my hope is built on nothing less than the goodness of God, rain or shine.
hahaha about ice cream in new england! i moved to ME last july (after being in the west, CA-OR-CO, all my 40+ ys) and there are so many little ice cream shops here that are always PACKED causing me to have the thought “man, they sure love their ice cream here”. also, i sooo have struggled with believing God is good as well. but this move to ME was God showing His goodness over and over again, so i’m slowly learning to really believe it. 🙂 thank you for sharing and have an awesome day!
Oh I can so relate. I live in Maine and this is the most depressing summer ever! All those plans- not gonna happen. All those perennials I planted- root rot. All those painting projects- nope, too damp for the paint to dry. Hiking, well not an option. But, it is August and there is hope. I just need to be patient. While summer may be a washout, fall colors will surely be magnificent this year because of all the rain. And in all this, I know that God is there watching over me. And regarding the ice cream, well, any road trip (to the library, supermarket, too) requires a stop at whatever ice cream stand is encountered even in the rain.
I’ve lost enough vision in 1 eye that I can no longer drive at night or in the rain. I’ve stopped counting the things I’ve missed or plans cancelled or changed due to rain on Saturdays. Our yard is the worst in the neighborhood because the 1 day my husband is available to mow, it rains!!! It’s sometimes hard but counting our blessings (WAY more) over the disappointment rain brings highlights the goodness of our great God. For me the rain comes so I won’t take His goodness for granted!
Your post is refreshing. I’m a fellow New England resident who has been really down by all the rain. I keep trying to be positive, but it’s just been tough. Your post is a good reminder that God is never changing!
Thanks, Melissa! Just what I needed today!
I LOVE THIS! Thank you from someone who lives on the West (Wet) Coast (Vancouver, BC) and awakened to much-needed rain after 3 months of unprecedented dry weather! It’s the contrast that keeps life interesting and our hearts in a posture of needing God and what’s proverbially considered “that greener grass” (pun intended)!
Our first rain today in Burnaby BC since May 2nd.. so exciting ☔️
Heading for my umbrella and rain boots to dance in the glorious downpour.. 9our firefighters are so exhausted.. it’s a Blessing from the Lord.
Good morning, a reader from Oregon who has been praying for rain as it’s so dry and fires around the state. I know God hears prayers and eventually the rain will arrive. I ate a Nestlé chocolate chip ice cream cookie Tuesday afternoon when I was at Baumans buying fruit and a plant. I enjoy Tillamook cheese and ice cream and we’ve been to that place in Tillamook, Oregon. Food and delicious ice cream that’s not in stores. Close to coast. Thanks for your story.
Melissa,
Sometimes life feels like you’re being ripped off. That feeling came to me last fall. I started a new job Dec. 2021. Last fall the other clerical in ICU suddenly quit & my job changed from clerical with some room stocking to stocking 28 ICU rooms daily. Even though I know God gave me this job as an answer to prayer — I felt gypped. Yes God took me from part time to full time benefitted. I wasn’t happy. Everyone knew it. It took some time but I saw the benefits of this position. Shoot I get 3 days off a week, can have all the overtime I need. The goodness of God is all over this. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus ‘ blood, righteousness & goodness. God is good ALL the time!
Blessings 🙂