The Legend of the Raindrop

The legend of the raindrop
Has a lesson for us all

As it trembled in the heavens
Questioning whether it should fall.

For the glistening raindrop argued
To the genie of the sky,

"I am beautiful and lovely
As I sparkle here on high,

And hanging here I will become
Part of the rainbow's hue

And I'll shimmer like a diamond
For all the world to view."

But the genie told the raindrop,
"Do not hesitate to go,

For you will be more beautiful
If you fall to earth below.

For you will sink into the soil
And be lost awhile from sight,

But when you reappear on earth,
You'll be looked on with delight.

For you will be the raindrop
That quenched the thirsty ground

And helped the lovely flowers
To blossom all around.

And in your resurrection
You'll appear in queenly clothes

With the beauty of the lily
And the fragrance of the rose;

Then, when you wilt and wither,
You'll become part of the earth

And make the soil more fertile
And give new flowers birth."

For there is nothing ever lost
Or eternally neglected,

For everything God ever made
Is always resurrected.


By Helen Steiner Rice