(the rain on my windowpane)"Ate Analyn, bakit ba nagkakaroon ng ulan? Saan yun galing?"
That was my question to my nanny almost 10 years ago. Why does it rain? Where does it come from? It was raining hard outside and i can't sleep(I was supposed to be having my siesta). At that time, my nanny was sorting out the laundry. She thought about my question for a while, and then answered:
"E kasi umiiyak ang Diyos. Yung luha nya, yun yung ulan."
I was struck by her answer. I imagined the scenario in my head. I wasn't convinced by her answer so I asked another question:
"Bakit siya umiiyak?"
"E kasi maraming bad. Pag maraming bad, nalulungkot siya"
"E bakit ang dami-daming tubig-ulan? Ganun kadami ang iyak ni God?"
"E kasi nga, Diyos siya. Pag Diyos ka, ganun talaga. Malaki siya e."
I didn't bother to ask her how she knew how big God was because I can see that she's already loosing her patience on me. As a child, I was always fond of asking so many questions. Anyway, I was supposed to be having my siesta so i stopped asking questions about the rain. I was convinced by her answer anyway. I was still so young back then and I believed in everything that the adults say. Whenever my classmates ask me the same question, I would give them my nanny's answer and they, too, would believe in it.
I believed at this reasoning for many years of my childhood and it wasn't until I entered 3rd grade that I found a more logical reason for this phenomena. We were then studying the different kinds of clouds. The cumulous clouds are the ones that appear nearest to earth and they are also the ones that bring rain. The clouds keep the rain and when the rain is too much for them to carry, they release it in form of rain or snow. At that time I replaced the idea that the rain are God's tears because there is a more scientific reason than that. Besides, how can you explain snow? Is it also a form of God's tears? The thought of snow coming out of God's eyes made me laugh.
Come 6th grade and I had an even more scientific reason for the occurrence of the rain. We were studying the water cycle of the earth. The water from the oceans evaporate and turn into very tiny droplets of water or water vapors. Those tiny droplets of water accumulate to form clouds. When clouds become very heavy and there are too much water for the clouds to bear, it falls in the form of rain. The process is called Precipitation. The rain falls back on the earth (some of them become ground waters) and water flows back to the oceans. The cycle repeats itself. Now that's a more logical approach! A bit complicated, but more reasonable. The idea that the rain are God's tears was a myth.
Okay, so now that the question is answered, I've no more doubts about it...but not until I was in Level 10 when I started to teach public school children on our CARE program (CARE stands for Cathechethical and Religious Emissaries). CARE is a requirement for all Level 10 students and it is a part of our Christian Living subject in La Salle. Anyway, I was done teaching the parable of the prodigal son to some 3rd grade students at Cumba Elementary School. We still had a couple of minutes left before i dismiss them so I allowed my students to go and play outside. I also agreed to play with them. The minute I said that, it started to rain. I saw in my students' faces a hint of dissapointment. They were so looking forward to play "jerbase(?)" with me so I decided to ask them a question, the same quetion that I asked 10 years ago to my nanny: "Bakit kaya umuulan? Saan nanggagaling ang ulan?"
The class became quiet, then a little boy raised his hand, stood up and answered with so much confidence:
"Galing po yun kay God. Umiiyak siya para magkaroon ng ulan kasi po mahal niya tayo."
There was it again..God's tears in form of rain. Once again, I was surprised by that answer but this time, I was surprised in a different way. I was about to disagree with him and tell him about the water cycle, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw a chart with illustrations about the different kinds of clouds. They were already studying the clouds so how come this boy gave me this answer? I decided to skip the lecture about the water cycle because I was too curious to know more about what's inside his head. To tell you the truth, I was touched by the answer because it came from the heart of a little boy who was just probably 6 or 7 years old. I gave him a follow-up question (but not the same follow-up question that I gave my nanny):
"Bakit ganun? Sa tingin mo, paano naging sign ng pagmamahal ang pag-iyak para umulan?"
I thought that the question was too much for a little boy. I thought that it will take him some time to answer my question. I was surprised for his quick response:
"Umiiyak siya para magkaroon ng ulan kasi mahal niya po tayo. Pag umuulan, nadidiligan ang mga halaman at nakakaligo ang mga kalabaw. Nagkakaroon tayo ng maraming tubig para magamit para maligo at mag-toothbrush. Pag walang ulan, hindi tayo mabubuhay"
I was speechless. His answer was so simple (unlike the lecture about the water cycle and the clouds). It gave me a new realization and a new perspective on life. The rain really does come from God. As a matter of fact, every phenomenon that occurs in nature all come from God. What happened to the part about the water cycle? It is still (and forever will be) a general truth, but I guess it is also just a part of God's brilliant plan for his creations. Every single thing that happens here on earth happens for a reason..just like the rain. Right? ...The dismissal bell rang.. The boy was still standing, probably waiting for my response, so I told the class:
"Oo nga, tama siya. Tsaka isipin nyo na lang, kung walang ulan, e di hindi natin makikita ang ganda ng rainbow, di ba?"
The boy, quite contented and proud of what he did, sat down with a smile on his face. I ended our class, said goodbye and left the room. It was still raining outside but our adult leader fetched me with an umbrella and walked with me to our vehicle. I went back to our school with an amazing new perspective that came from an innocent little boy. I just hope that when this little boy reaches the 6th grade and learns about the water cycle, he doesn't lose this idea about God's tears in form of rain.
"Andwhen it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. 'Coz without the rain, there would be no rainbow.."
-Jerry Chin
