Fact: ‘Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall’

Published February 6, 1986. Much of my professional life is spent in counseling and teaching about marriage. The nature of the work often brings me in contact with married couples who are discouraged and even despondent about their future. Often during counseling sessions, I meet with people who have experienced personal turmoil and disruption trying to meet many of life’s demands.

When I was just a young boy in school, I, along with all my other school mates, was required to stand before the class and recited a poem. The one assigned to me was by Longfellow.

I struggled to memorize the poem and, at the time, paid more attention to my delivery than to the content. The day for the poem recitation soon arrived. Somewhat nervous I arose, went before the group and, from memory, quoted the following:

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary

It rains, and the wind is never weary,

The thyme still clings to the moldering wall,

But at every gust the dead leaves fall.

And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary:

It rains, and the wind is never weary;

My thoughts still cling to the moldering Past.

But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,

And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! And cease repining;

Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;

Thy forte is the common fate of all,

Into each life some rain must fall,

Some days must be dark and dreary.

The teacher nodded his head in approval as I sat down. In the exuberance of my youthful performance, I had not caught the full intent or meaning of the poem. My only concern was the required recitation.

Now, somewhat older and more experienced in life, I look back at the occasion. And the poem. I have begun to understand what Longfellow was saying. Indeed, “into each life some rain must fall.”

There are people in our midst who have experienced, or may now be experiencing, some of those dark and dreary days in life. Those days also described in the Bible as the days when the rains and floods would descend (Matthew 7:24-27).

To those thus exposed to the chilling seasons of life, Longfellow reminds us, “Behind the clouds is the sun still shining.” In due time, these perplexing experiences, like the stormy clouds of winter, will also pass by.

Springtime eventually follows the storms of winter.

In last week’s column I invited readers to write and tell me of couples in Utah who have been married many years—60, 70, or more. We are trying to find the couple who has been married the longest in Utah. Nominations are still open.