This afternoon around 5 pm when I got off the train, it was raining! On the train I had my eyes closed because I had a headache, so I didn't realize it was raining until I stepped out into it. And this was no drizzle, but full-fledged, big drops. With thunder. It rained just long enough for me to walk home in it, and then a little more later. It's been really windy tonight, and as I type, I can see lightning and hear thunder. The strange thing is, is it's not really cold. In Oregon when it rains, the temperature drops quite rapidly, but here I was quite comfortable walking - except for being wet, of course.
I've heard it said that when it rains in Cairo, it rains mud. Now I know what they mean. The shirt I was wearing now has dirt on it shaped in raindrops. My face had dirt on it. I'll be washing my hair soon! I guess all the dust in the air and on the trees makes the water dirty before it even hits the ground. I thought about taking a taxi home, but was wary of the price the driver would charge me, and also worried about the roads. I could actually feel the slickness with my shoes from all the oil build-up.
And you know what's really weird? Last night or the night before I had a dream about rain in Cairo.
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Regarding the raining mud, a lot of the time rain droplets form due to particulates in clouds. (Thus seeding clouds for rain.) But I can imagine with the wind kicking up a lot of dust the rain catches a lot of dust on the way down.
ReplyDeleteRegarding rain in Oregon... it depends on the way the wind is blowing. Yesterday morning started out in the upper 40s, then when the strong South winds started blowing it got into the 60s in less than two hours. It was raining around that time, but compared to the morning, it was no longer cold and raining.
Sarah,
ReplyDeletejust one word "umbrella"
love Aunt Jo Rae
I was just thinking about the desert influence on Biblical imagery, and came across your post. Rain and rock were the two images that came to mind for their close tie to arid places.
ReplyDeleteRAIN
In Job 29
They waited for me as people wait for the rain, and they opened their mouths as for the spring rains.
In Psalm 65
You visit the earth and give it rain;
you make it rich and fertile
with overflowing streams full of water.
In Proverbs 25
Like cloudy skies and wind that produce no rain, so is the one who boasts of a gift not given.
In Isaiah 45
O sky, rain down from above! Let the clouds send down showers of deliverance! Let the earth absorb it so salvation may grow, and deliverance may sprout up along with it. I, the Lord, create it.
ROCK
In 1 Samuel 2 - as strength or power.
No one is holy like the Lord! There is no one other than you! There is no rock like our God!
In Psalm 19 - as shelter, a particularly important role a rock plays in the desert.
May my words and my thoughts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my sheltering rock and my redeemer.
In Psalm 40 - as foundation, although the image is muddied by the reference to a wet place, perhaps near a stream
He lifted me out of the watery pit, out of the slimy mud. He placed my feet on a rock and gave me secure footing.
And while we need rain here too, I do wonder how much different our Psalms might look if written from the Northwest. Perhaps the emphasis would be on the blessing of the splitting of crowds and having the light pour through. Or on the heat that brings relief from the cold.
Very cool that you're experiencing the blessing of rain. We're looking for the blessing of a few more days of sun.