“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36 NIV)

I was born under an umbrella.

Everyone was, actually, and everyone carries one over their head all of the time.

Why?

Because it is constantly raining out there, and without the umbrella, we’d get soaked to the skin!

Well, maybe that’s not 100% true… Everyone WAS born under an umbrella, and it IS constantly raining, but there are some-a very few-who walk around without umbrellas. They have these silly grins on their faces, and they leap around in the rain as if it were some kind of a hot tub or something! They seem to like getting wet! Crazy. In fact, that’s what we call them: Crazies! But hey! To each his own! If they want to walk around getting soaked, it’s their choice!

The only problem is, they don’t have the same attitude. They seem to think that their goal in life is to make everyone like they are — Umbrella-less!

The Un-crazies would be just as happy to ignore them. I mean, why can’t everyone just live and let live?

But they won’t let us! They go around all day long trying to get us to put away our umbrellas.

Of course, I’d never fall for that! I’ve never been out from under my umbrella, and I don’t plan to EVER go out in the rain! After all, I have experienced what it’s like to get wet! I got my little toe wet once and it was awful! Everyone laughed at me, told me I’d have to be more careful to stay dry! To be perfectly honest with you though, it didn’t feel all that bad . . . It kind of felt warm, and-and-cozy! But I knew it was just the influence of those crazies. I mean, how can being soaked by rain make you feel warm and cozy???

I was shocked and horrified the other day when those crazies actually managed to convince my cousin to put away her umbrella. She just folded it up and threw it away! I ran and picked it up. You never know when a spare umbrella can come in handy! Besides, I hope to goodness that she comes to her senses and wants it back! Some time before she catches pneumonia!

She told me something that baffled me, though. She said that out from under the umbrella the sun is always shining. I didn’t know whether or not to believe her, but my cousin has never lied to me before. And as the days went by, I realized that maybe it was true. I mean, despite all of the rain, her skin was becoming tanned!

If only the rain would stop so I could put my umbrella away and enjoy the sunshine, too…

I was puzzling over this the other day, and I must have said something out loud, because one of those crazies came up to me and told me that if I put my umbrella away, I wouldn’t notice the rain at all, except to be thankful for it, and instead, I’d feel the warmth of the sun!

Crazy! And I wasn’t drawn in by it! No way! Why would I put away the only thing that’s keeping me away from all that rain???

I tried for several days to put the incident out of my mind, but for some reason, I couldn’t. How could the sun be shining so brightly when it rained constantly? It seemed so unfair, like–like someone was trying to torment us or something. Like holding a loaf of bread out to someone who’s starving, but always backing away the moment that person got close enough to touch it!

And that’s what brought me there today. I had to come and see for myself. I had to experience this place where there aren’t any umbrellas, where everyone is just sitting or standing around in the rain while their skin was turning brown from the sun!

I was feeling pretty uncomfortable at first, and I was about to turn around and leave when I spotted my cousin. I walked over to her, and fighting back my pride, I asked: “How come you are getting a tan even though you’re standing out in the rain?”

She turned to me, and if it hadn’t been for all that rain beating down on her face, I would have been sure those were tears. “You need the rain to have access to the sun!” She said with a kind smile. “You think your umbrella is protecting you from the rain, but really, it’s keeping you from the sun!”

“But–but . . .” I stammered, thoroughly confused. “I don’t understand!”

“No,” she answered. “You wouldn’t. It’s pretty hard to understand it if you’ve never experienced it! But why not try? Why not put away your umbrella and experience it for yourself?”

“I . . .”

I was going to say “I would NEVER do that!” But somewhere after the “I”, I sensed my lips forming to say the word “will”… I quickly snapped my mouth closed. What on EARTH was I thinking! Maybe the influence of these crazies became stronger when they were all together! Maybe it was some kind of brainwashing. Maybe . . . But whatever it was, I’d have to be more careful!

My cousin smiled warmly. “Come, sit down,” she invited. “Let me tell you a story!”

“No . . .” I started to argue, but my feet were moving towards her! The idea of being able to feel the sun seemed so inviting…

Her smile broadened as she sat down on a soaking-wet log.

I looked around, half expecting to see some of my friends watching me, but when the way was clear, my curiosity couldn’t take it any longer. “Okay,” I said. “Tell me your story!”

My cousin patted the log, inviting me to sit beside her. I don’t know why. I have never in my life sat down on something soaking wet! But surprisingly, it wasn’t! It was warm and dry and… But there was no time for contemplation. My cousin was already speaking:

“Once upon a time, there were no umbrellas. There wasn’t any rain, either! The only two people on earth at the time just walked around in the sunshine.”

I was intrigued. I was, after all, tired of all this rain.

“They had been told to be careful to not let anything separate them from the sunshine; but one day, one of them found an open umbrella. The sun was feeling rather hot at the moment, and the thought of some shade seemed inviting, so after picking it up and putting it over her head, she invited her husband to go under it as well.

“But then both of them realized that they had just separated themselves from the sunshine! They were immediately scared, but try as they might, they couldn’t throw away the umbrella. It was stuck to them, and they could do nothing to get it to stop blocking their sunshine!”

I furrowed my brow. “That’s hardly fair,” I argued.

My cousin smiled. “No, it wouldn’t seem fair when you haven’t experienced the Sun. But you see, they HAD been warned, by the Sun Himself!” She looked off into the distance, and then she quietly continued: “This went on for many generations, but then something wonderful happened! The Sun came down to the earth!

“The only problem was, the Sun couldn’t live under an umbrella. This made the umbrella holders angry. ‘He thinks he’s better than us!’ They whispered behind their hands, then they shielded their eyes and looked away whenever He was around.

“A few didn’t, though. They learned to be able to look right into His face without consequences.

“This made the umbrella holders even angrier, so angry that they killed the Sun!”

My face must have registered my shock, because my cousin’s eyes got really big, and then a drop slid down her right cheek. I knew it was a tear this time, because I saw it fall!

“But that’s the beautiful part,” she said, choking a little on her breath. “That’s when the rain started to fall!”

My mouth opened wide. The rain was the beautiful part???

She nodded at my unasked question. “Yes!” She exclaimed. “The rain comes from the Sun! You see, because the Sun had never chosen to live under an umbrella, the grave couldn’t hold Him back! He came back to life after three days! Then He went back up into the sky, and began pouring out all of this beautiful rain!”

My brow furrowed. “But… What’s so wonderful about the rain????”

The girl laughed. A merry laugh. “Isn’t it delightful?” She asked. “It’s warm, and it’s comforting, but most of all, it washes away all of the dirt!”

“The dirt?” I queried. “What dirt?”

“Why, the dirt on your arm!” She held her arm up next to mine: “See?”

My mouth dropped open even farther. I had never considered myself to be dirty, but there it was! Compared to her arm, my arm was crusted with dirt, streaked with grim, stained with layer upon layer of grit!

“Once the dirt is washed away, then you can feel the sunshine!” Continued my cousin. “The rain continues to wash away any of the dirty spots you get when you fall down, but other than that, you don’t even feel it. All you feel is the warmth of the Sun! And…”

“And your hair skin gets tanned, despite the rain!”

She laughed her merry laugh again. “The more I stay in the Sun, the more I begin to reflect Him!”

I looked away. I couldn’t shake the feeling of how special it would be to feel and see the Sun. “So…” I hesitatingly ventured, “what do you have to do to… To get the dirt washed away?”

“That’s the beauty of it,” cried my cousin. “All you have to do is step out from under the umbrella! Just jump out into the rain! It’s the Sun’s gift to you! You see, the Sun wants you to be able to walk in His light and warmth! Coming to this Earth to die was His way of reestablishing the direct connection between you and Himself! All you have to do is renounce your umbrella!”

I looked at my hand, the one that so tightly clutched the umbrella I had been born under. Could I do it? Could I really let it go? I tried to release my grip, but my fingers seemed stuck to the handle. Fear suddenly overcame me. “I – I can’t seem to let it go!”

“Here’s the best part!” She exclaimed. “Just ask the Sun to take away your umbrella!”

I stared at her for a moment, then back at my grimy hand, tightly clutching the umbrella. I don’t know if I believed her or not, but I found my mouth forming the words: “Please Sun, take away my umbrella!” And then the strangest thing happened! My fingers loosened their grip on the umbrella handle and the whole thing just fell away!

I was immediately engulfed in the rain, but it wasn’t a miserable rain like I had thought. It was a gentle, delightful, cleansing rain, and before my very eyes, all the grit and grim on my arms just washed away.

And then, I could feel the warmth of the Sun! And I couldn’t stop myself: I started jumping up and down, dancing in the sunshine, shouting out to everyone around how wonderful it was to live in the Sun!

Lyn Chaffart , Mother of two teens, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, and Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, www.scripturalnuggets.org , with Answers2Prayer Ministries, www.Answers2Prayer.org