SUMMER SHOWERS
PRACTICE: The next time it rains, simply sit, listen and learn—just be.
It is one of those serendipitous moments that can be explained but can’t be planned by any other than the almighty Creator. It is a Sunday afternoon. It has been very warm and mildly humid with a blue sky and a gentle breeze to take the edge off the heat all day. I have entertained myself with little projects that completely take my mind off what I ought to be doing. About 3 in the afternoon, the clouds thicken, the wind picks up and I hear the faint sound of 1 or 2 raindrops which quickly turn into a full-fledged rainstorm. I make a deliberate decision to sit and listen to the rain falling on the house, the street, and the sidewalk through an open window. I sit, I listen, I wait for the it to be over. I can’t stop the storm and I can’t escape it, but I am sheltered from it.
The rain ends, just as it begun—the raindrops gradually decrease until they are no more. Slowly filling with the promise of what is to come, the sky lightens, the trees dance once again to the after-shower breeze. All that is left of the heavy summer shower is the wet pavement and sidewalk. The grass looks greener. The flowers which were a bit droopy prior to the storm begin to stand strong and proud. All of this happened because they had been through the storm.
In the moment, I was reminded that life and its troubles/worries/challenges can be summed up in the summer shower.
Life is not, nor should one expect it to be, experienced as a continuous strand of carefree days. My Sunday was amazing while it lasted and sometimes, we do get to have amazing Sundays, for extended periods. But just as sure as those days come – the summer shower/the furious thunderstorm/the tornado/the hurricane is going to happen.
My charge, our charge, is to recognize the thickening clouds, look at them and to decide to listen for what the raindrops have to say, to choose to sit and be fully present in the storm, knowing that sooner and often times later, the heavy raindrops of hurt, anger, disappointment etc. will taper off into a drizzle. The dark clouds will gradually dissipate, the sun will appear.
Your summer day will return more beautiful than before because of the storm that you sat through.
PONDER THIS THOUGHT—I can’t control the storms of life, but I can control how they impact my life.
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