Rain. It has been a particularly rainy spring and summer. As I write this the heavens are once again pouring down as water flows from downspouts and drains into the downward slant of our street. Many are lamenting this gift of the sky. Some label it is ‘the new normal’ as climate change lives more and more with us daily. Farmers are having difficulty planting on what was a schedule they had come to rely upon. Basements that have never been wet are feeling damp and have a certain unpleasantness. 

All these things are true. But perhaps one positive spin on these rainy days is that the landscape all around is particularly green. Green. Various shades of green burst out from yard and field, from tree and bush. Outside it is positively Irish in its greenness. Driving back from northern Wisconsin over the holiday, I allowed my eyes to take in the vast swaths of green that unfolded and thought about the physical response that gets elicited by the color green. There is such hope in its hue. Over long, white-painted winters we long for green. The smallest shoot of grassy green lifts the spirit out of the cold and sends minds dreaming of flowers and fruits to come. But it all starts with green.

Looking at those undulating fields reminded me of the 12th century mystic, Hildegard von Bingen, who wrote so beautifully about the color green, even using it to name the Holy, the Creator, the Sacred One. She often used the word ‘veriditas’ meaning ‘the greening power of God’. 

“O most honored Greening Force,
You who roots in the Sun;
You who lights up, in shining serenity, within a wheel
that earthly excellence fails to comprehend.
You are enfolded
in the weaving of divine mysteries.
You redden like the dawn
and you burn: flame of the Sun.”

I share Hildegard’s sentiment of the way in which green carries that creative, life-affirming, hopeful spirit. Looking around for symbolism that is associated with the color green, I learned that it is seen as the color of balance, restoring a sense of well-being and sanctuary. That feels right. And while there doesn’t seem to be any break in the rains that have held our summer days, I am thankful for the palette of green that is painting my days. It is a good reminder of more of Hildegard’s words: “The Word is living, being, spirit, all verdant greening, all creativity. This Word manifests itself in every creature.”

Though all creatures are not literally green, we all carry some cell of that verdancy within. Perhaps if we clung more closely to it we might live more fully into that sense of balance and sanctuary. We might speak more kindly, “light up” the difficult places and become a “shining serenity” to all we meet. 

As long as the rain continues, we are likely to see more and more green. I will take it as gift and a nudge toward a hope that longs to grow.