Blessings: The Rain (Day 16)
Verse to ponder: Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth. Hosea 6:3
Yesterday was a spring-like day in my neck of the woods. Super strange considering what last week was like (we had INCHES of snow) and then what this weekend is supposed to be like (crazy cold). But it was a gorgeous day, and I was in such a great mood. I took Flash to his story time at the library for the first time in forever. His and the Animal’s endless snots coupled with weeks of bad weather had kept me indoors. Getting out and walking in the sunshine without a jacket on lifted my spirits. When we picked the Animal up from preschool, we came home and they played outside — again, with no jackets. It was an exciting glimpse into the future with spring and summer just around the corner.
But all of that fun that we had kept me from running a few errands. I needed to get to the grocery store. I needed to pick up some contacts I’d ordered. I just put those on the backburner thinking, “I’ll do them tomorrow.”
That leads me to today. This morning, as I hurried the boys into the van, it was raining. Nothing so bad that I needed an umbrella, but enough that I was already thinking, “Great. I should have done these errands yesterday.”
We dropped the Animal off and headed toward the eye doctor. In his normal fashion, by the time we reached the office, Flash had removed his socks and shoes. I struggled to find his second sock when all of a sudden there was this strange noise. My brain didn’t register what it was until I felt it. “Big ol’ fat rain” like Bubba Gump describes in Forrest Gump. And when it really dawned on me what was happening, the bottom fell out. It was pouring into the van, all over Flash, and all over my hair — which I had carefully straightened this morning.
I must have looked like a lunatic to everyone inside that doctor’s office as I frantically pulled Flash out of the van – shoeless – and ran to the door. The wind decided to pick up at that point as well, so by the time we walked into the lobby we were soaked and the left side of my hair was standing up.
Flash was crying. I was panting (he’s kind of heavy when coupled with my burgeoning belly). The ladies at the counter were all like, “Awwww.”
In the end, it was an adventure. Flash got over his fear of the “big ol’ fat rain,” and he found it fun to use the umbrella. We hurried back out of the doctor’s office. We hurried in to the grocery store. We watched the rain as we drove.
And in one brief moment, I caught the blessing: not only is the rain doing what it needs to do (um, nourishing the Earth and stuff), but it was giving Flash and me some really fun experiences and stories.
