Meaning of a phrase from "The Shack"

Question

Recently I have watched the film "The Shack". The events of the film is narrated by a person who is also a character in the film (Willie). At the beginning he gives some information about Mackenzie's(main character) father. Here it is:

His father was an elder in the church. A closet drinker.

Especially when the rain didn't come, or came too early...

Most times in between.

The first line is clear: The man is a worker in the church and he is not supposed to drink but he brakes this rule.

I didn't understand the second line. Why the narrator is mentioning rain? How can it be related to the closet drinker?

The third line will get cleared, I think, if the second line gets cleared first. Can anybody explain what the narrator means in the second line?

Answer 1

The second line would make sense were Mackenzie's father a farmer who depended upon the right amount of rain at the right time for a successful harvest. There is something of a joke regarding his drinking in the last line. It implies that while he may consider a drought or a too-early rain as a disaster justifying his taking a drink, the fact is that he drinks regardless.

Hope this helps!