The rain is back –
my familiar old friend –
and I settle into my comfy chair
with a mug of cocoa
and a cinnamon roll and watch
the raindrops hit the deck
making tiny splashes
and tickling my soul
with their happy pattering.
This is peace. This is joy.
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
It’s dark outside, and cold,
and the rain is on the offensive.
Last summer I craved the rain –
I missed the sound of gentle pattering
on the roof, and the smell of clean
green fields after a cooling drizzle.
So I guess I should be grateful
for this rain.
But I just feel drenched inside and out,
soggy-headed, and worn down by the
relentless downpour – the watery refrain.
My heart is low. My instinct wants me
to jolly myself along – put in a funny
movie and laugh my way out of this pain.
But another voice tells me it’s okay
to feel this way – to just sit in this
and feel whatever I’m feeling
and accept it – maybe learn something
from it. It will pass – what I’m feeling,
and the rain.
And, after it’s gone, what’s eternal
will remain.
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
Wrapped up cozy in a downpour
on this winter solstice day
Rain patter-tapping on my
bumbershoot as I slosh along the way
I feel Love reaching out –
ever-here, ever-there, everywhere –
embracing me in Her gentle calm.
What choice do I have but to share?
Home to dry clothes and a fire
in the wood stove. Soon a pie
in the oven – filling our home
with baked blueberry smells – my
contribution to the solstice feast
of peace.
.-Karen Molenaar Terrell
Gusting and pelting rain outside
and leaves of red and yellow
and orange are dancing
through the air like party confetti
and inside I’m cozy with a fire
in the woodstove and Earl Grey
tea beside me. I am content.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell
Adventures of the Madcap Christian Scientist 