Collecting Fresh Rain Water

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God's grace is like a steady rain that never ceases to fill millions of bowls, vases, pitchers, and cups. Each person receives that grace-rain according to the unique shape of his or her vessel. In this we might say that each person is filled with the same grace but filled as Christ apportions it. 

As Christ fills us, we have a chance to fill those who jostle us in the rain. See, some people don't like to get wet. Some people think that others are better situated to receive the rain than they. Some people are afraid the rain will stop. And still others are sure their vessel can't hold water. Whatever the reason, our family, neighbors, friends, spouse, &/or relatives tend to bump into us quite often, giving us an opportunity to spill our water into their vessels.

I can tell you right now, we were made to spill out. That is the only way we can be filled with fresh water. And, as anyone will tell you, a vessel of rain water put on display in the safety of a museum will begin to grow micro-organisms that render the water undrinkable. If we are to keep our water pure and drinkable, we must be jostled and sloshed about, even if it is just to get rid of thirty years of algae and slime that's been accumulating in us.

The jostling that we receive, and, let's not deceive ourselves, that we do to others, is due, as I said, to the peculiar beliefs we have about how this rainwater ought to be gathered. 

Some people believe that they must assert themselves and make it happen. They use forceful language with plenty of commands and orders. Standing beside such a character can be frightening. You're always half-afraid that they're going to grab your cup and dump it into their own. You are quite sure they're strong enough to do this too. (These are the Ennegram 8's by the way.) And have no fear of them. They might grab your cup and empty your water, but they can't stop the rain from falling.

Another sort of people have a tendency to believe that everyone else's need for water is actually greater than their own. So they are constantly dumping themselves upon others whether those others want it or not. They speak to others like children, and lash out angrily if others don't accept their unsolicited help. (These are Enneagram 2's.) Have no fear of this sort either. They contain no putridness within them that the fresh rain can't wash out of you.

There are some (Enneagram 1's) that can't get through the day without complaining about how difficult rain collecting is, how others aren't doing it effectively, how poor some people's vessels are, etc. Do not fear, their complaints don't change the weather. And while they are most likely right about the world's wrongness, the world is still becoming right in the way God wants.

Some (Enneagram 6's) have asked the advice of those they believe are good water collectors about how to go about this procedure. Should they stand beneath a tree, beneath a gutter, out in a field? Then they make a plan to follow the given advice, and if anyone interrupts their rain-walk or if their plan doesn't produce what they hoped for, they are thrown into a panic, a teeth-bearing, hair-gripping panic. Do not fear these sort either. Despite what they say, you can't ruin their ability to get water, and the world isn't actually coming to an end either.

Then there are those who've created a giant funnel over the mouths of their jars so that they might collect even more. They hold out their funnel in the rain running at full speed. It's nearly impossible to keep pace with them (Enneagram 7's). Don't worry about these sort. You don't need to keep up with them, and if they stand beside you, they won't be taking your allotment of water.

There's the smooth-talking, sparkling-vessels (Enneagram 3's). They sidle up to others and bump them so gently that it's hard to be angry at them, except of course if you refuse to give them a drop. Then, they cannot leave you alone until you give something to them. Don't fear their desperation. Your sprinkling may give them a taste for standing out fully in the rain.

There are the elegant vases with the long necks and great round bellies (Enneagram 4's). Their depths are unfathomable. Who can understand how much they need but the rain-giver himself? But they will try to explain to you their innards and try to get you to see into their vases. Don't flinch or close your eyes. You are not required to understand or fill their depths. 

Second to last are those vessels that are so wide and round that it is quite hard to tell whether they hold any water or not. They do: a flat disk of tranquil water always kept flat on the ground (Enneagram 9). It is rather hard to knock any water out of these people, and standing beside them, you might find yourself annoyed that they don't seem to spill water like the rest of us. Don't be angry with them, and don't feel it is your responsibility to knock them about either. That'll come without your help.

I come the last of them. My own. Enneagram 5. I'm afraid I go around with my hand over my lid. And if anyone knocks me, I run into my house and peer out the windows until the coast is clear. I'm aware that others want my water, but I'm afraid I haven't enough for myself. Do not be angry with me. You will not lose anything by waiting for me. And if my water goes bad, I'm fully aware of it. I've been testing it in a science lab every day. I know each type of bacteria that grows and what it looks like. That is what this essay is . . .  

You see, when we stand out under the open skies, the silly ways we go about grace-gathering can become the glorious way in which we spill fresh rain water onto others. The handicap becomes the strength. The awkwardness becomes the dance. The stagnant become a wellspring.

So stand out in the rain! It's glorious!


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