Rain, Rain Go Away!

Katherine H. Purdy

“Let’s read about Noah from God’s Word, the Bible.” Mama reached for the Bible on the shelf as Papa slipped into the other rooms, cutting canvas and draping it over pieces of furniture before returning to the kitchen with two full buckets of water, dumped them into water barrels on the back porch and made another trip. By the time he had finished, Eugene, Curtis and Isabel were sitting patiently on the floor and baby Maggie slept soundly in her tented cradle.

Mama opened the Bible to Genesis and began to read.

At that very moment, lightning flashed across the sky and thunder shook the house; accompanied by heavy rain.

“Hurry children,” Mama said as she sat the Bible on a chair and slid it under the table, “ crawl under the table where you will be protected.” With tears in her eyes, Isabel crawled under the table tent and lifted the corner to see if Mama would follow.

“Mama, I’m scared!”

“Yes dear, I know.” Mama stooped and looked under the table. “Eugene, I want you to hold the baby while I help Papa. Just hold her close. Curtis, sit close to Isabel, please. You are her big brother and protector. Don’t worry, everything will be alright.”

 ~*~

“Yes, Mama,” Eugene said as he reached for Baby Maggie and then turned to Isabel.

“Ah, it’s alright Sis. God is in control.”

“That’s right, Sis. Remember Noah’s Ark?”

Isabel nodded and peeked under the canvas flap to watch the rain on the window panes. Trees bending in the wind and suddenly, rain drops turned to hail. “Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day. All of us want to go out and play!”

“Eugene, how long did God let it rain on Noah’s Ark?”

“Forty days,” he answered softly. “It won’t rain that long here.”

“Is that a long time?”

“Yeah, Sis it is. But that won’t happen here; right Curtis?”

Isabel turned to her other brother who nodded solemnly.

“How come?”

“Because God promised He would never destroy the world with rain again, He even put a rainbow in the sky to remind us He keeps His promise.”

Curtis squirmed, scratched his head and looked up at his older brother. “Did He promise not to flood houses?”

“Aw, it will be over soon and we will tell everybody at school we had a kitchen table tent!”

“Will it help if we pray like Mama and Papa?”

“Maybe.” Eugene scratched his head and then quickly replaced his hand on the baby. “Even if it doesn’t stop raining right now, Mama says that when we are afraid, He comforts us and provides a way to not be afraid anymore.”

“Okay,” Isabel said

Isabel rested her head on the edge of Maggie’s blanket and was almost asleep when she heard footsteps on the front porch and then a loud banging on the door.

“Jesus is coming to help us,” she mumbled as she drifted off to sleep.