Living in paradise usually means a postcard of sun, sand and beach but it’s still January and the rain is still here. Like you, I enjoy the hot, clear days and I immensely dislike the rain. I remember a particular conversation I had with one close family friend exactly a decade ago. I was sitting in Aute's guesthouse at Saleimoa when it started to rain, lightly at first and then it was loud.

"I hate the rain!" I lamented "Why? You should love it! We are so used to the sun that we forget about the rain! What is the sun without the rain? I love the rain because it calms everything down. It gives new life and changes the normal colour of our world. The rain renews", Aute said.

It struck me that she was absolutely correct. We are so used to good things that we forget about the bad. The rain is not bad but it can represent all the small annoyances in life, pesky problems, encounters that we replay over and over in our minds that could have had a better outcome. Some of the things we say offhandedly that we wish we could take back. After all, what is happiness without sadness?

What is success without struggle? What is a destination without the journey? Sometimes, it takes real problems to make us appreciate the solutions. Other times, it takes just one smile from a stranger to make your day.

Aute explained the usefulness and the many good faces of rain. She reminded me about the villagers who needed rain for their water supply as some of the rural villages can go weeks without clean, fresh water. There are many uses of the rain like the little annoyances in life. Just as the plants need the rain to grow, we need the little annoyances of life to learn, to mature us, to test us so that we can become better people. Better christians. Other annoyances can transform into long, deep bitter roots that will only bear terrible fruits if we don't snuff them fast enough.

That interesting conversation between Hibiscus and I, is still embedded in my memory. It also reminded me that I very enjoyed the rain when I was a child. I was a rain lover. I just got tired of it during the cold, grey, winter days when I was studying overseas. The grey weather can be quite depressing. My older sister and I got into a lot of trouble with water play when we were kids. We would fill up a tub or gallon with water and wait patiently before we both jump in, pretending that we were either at the river or at the beach. We would spend enough time in there to wrinkle our skin. If we couldn't find any of those, we would just go outside and wait for the rain to drown us. The best part was the warm bed after the cold showers.

Rain is renewal, rejuvenation, a new chapter. Rain like Aute explained can be powerful enough to wash our insecurities, problems, fears away.

There is something magical about the rain, cleansing, a reconciliation between the old and new, giving enough warning before it comes. Starting, softly, slowly at first then gradually falls on us like blankets. There is forgiveness in the rain.

"Forgiveness liberates the soul, it removes fear. That's why it's such a powerful weapon."

The rain can also symbolize a path of reconciliation with others. A choice to live in harmony. Wash away the old, dust and replace with the new. Forgiveness frees us from many unpleasant things and is extremely difficult. I know because I am human. If we were perfect, we would not need forgiveness, reconciliation or guidance. Forgiveness is the product of humility and the art of letting go. To put others before ourselves, we see our own imperfections and using the courage through humility to truly forgive someone regardless of who is right or wrong. If we hold onto an unforgiving heart, we choose to be enslaved by our thoughts, to be unwilling to forgive is to actively add to a wound that is already infected, it will rot our bones from the core. 

While we enjoy another peaceful Sunday Samoa, enjoy the rain and choose forgiveness. Above all, choose the most peaceful road, even if it mean walking away.