Rain (n)  moisture condensed from the atmosphere that falls visibly in separate drops.

Reign (v) hold royal office; rule as king or queen;

Rein (n) small strap on a horse’s harness; rein-in hold back or control.

It almost feels a bit disrespectful to be speaking of rain during this recent lovely span of blue-skied weather.  Here in the Northwest, we are very familiar with rain.  In fact, our weather reporters seem to have the most creative ways of telling us that precipitation is going to be falling….again.  I love how the definition of rain states that the moisture falls in separate drops.  Sometimes, it sure doesn’t feel like there is any space between those drops!

Ever feel like things are raining down on you?  It can be good or bad, just an enormous volume of life events all happening at the same time.  This is one of those weeks for me.  It’s all pleasant things – simply a lot! Like the rain falling, stuff happens and the sheer volume feels like a downpour.  We can experience moments where we clearly need to stop and catch our breath.

In the U.S., we don’t often have the opportunity to speak of reign in the regal sense of the word. However, reign is very appropriate for this historic year with the recent coronation of King Charles III.  For believers, we use it to speak of the reign of God, where we place Him first. God reigns in our lives through repentance and faith in Christ. It is a comforting place to reside.

As if two like-sounding words weren’t enough, what about rein?  The reining in of power or the rein on a horse’s harness. It often refers to a tether with the function of restraint or control.  We all could use a bit of restraint on occasion! Reining in our words or emotions may do those around us a bit of good.

Once again homophones can be mind boggling.  Same sounding words, different meanings and usages, it’s a wonder we can communicate clearly!