Rain

Someone once said, "into every life, a little rain must fall." I've come to appreciate that statement recently. Although it does cause me to wonder if anything I've ever said will ever classify as a "someone once said" item. That's probably another whole piece of writing. Anyway, like I said, I've come to appreciate the rain. It might not sound like a huge revelation from someone who lives in Seattle. What I mean is that I no longer accept, expect, or merely tolerate rain. I've come to appreciate it. I only realized this just this morning when I woke up fully expecting another bright morning sky and instead found showers outside of my window. It made me happy. It also startled me that I was actually very relieved to pick up a very wet newspaper from my sidewalk. I 'm not totally sure about the transformation in my life. I think that it has progressed gradually to the point that I guess the universal need for rain outweighs my need to have things be convenient for me. One of the things that I love about Seattle is that in the Summer (ok, really mid July to mid August) it almost never rains. I love that. I almost refuse to leave here during the Summer. I've lived in other parts of the country and I wouldn't go back during the Summer if you paid my way. I went to bed last night after watching a many degreed meteorologist give the no-brainer report for today which of course included sun. Someone forget to schedule this day with the Rainmaker I guess. I'm happy. Something I didn't expect happened. It caused me to turn off the auto pilot and be a bit more creative about my plans for the day. My schedule was changed, not by me, and I'm content. If you know me then you know what a monumental day that this is.
Is this maturity? Have I finally grown beyond my selfishness? Naaaaah, probably not. I do think that there is a change happening though. Jesus once said, "I've come to bring you life more abundantly." Somehow I've always equated life with sun. I want sun more abundantly. If I'm a Christian and all that shouldn't the pavement be a bit smoother? Shouldn't my feet stay a bit drier? As my lawn can attest, too much sun and too little rain does not equal life at all. We all need the rain. It's testing. It can be inconvenient. It might make things more challenging. It is definitely refreshing.