I'm thirsty anyway, So Bring on the Rain...

I love this sound. It's the sound that accompanies sitting on a window seat with a book open on your lap... of riding in the backseat of the car, staring at the wet road beside you. The sound that announces how wet your feet will feel all day... the amount of frizziness in your hair.

I love rain. I love everything about it. I love the smell that pervades the air right before a big rainstorm... the sounds of thunder and raindrops falling on the roof. I love the way the sky gets dark and everything feels a little more isolated... a little more peaceful.

I don't, however, enjoy the rain in my life.

You know what it is. Those moments when your sun ceases to shine... thunder and lightning invoke chaos, and all you can do is stand under any kind of umbrella you can find, just to find reprieve. When the winds are howling and your heart is hurting, and all you want is to find a place that is quiet and warm, where nothing can touch you. Somwhere you don't have to get wet.

I've been drenched lately. I can't seem to find a place to stand and find shelter from the storms that have overtaken my heart.

Granted, I'm pretty good at faking it most of the time. I can pretend like the rain doesn't bother me... like it isn't a huge inconvenience that keeps me from enjoying all the plans I'd made for the sunshine. I can put on my windshield wipers and pray that the rain will miraculously stop, while all the while, insisting that it isn't hurting me.

But that's the thing with the rain that falls in our lives. No matter how good you are at pretending... at the end of the day, the fact still remains that you're wet.

What's worse, is that it's important. Rain is necessary, both in reality and figuratively. Just as it's vital for renewal and growth in our world, it's necessary for renewal and growth in our hearts, as well. Nothing new can develop, and nothing old can be washed away, without the presence of rain.

So I'm doing a lot of growing right now. There's a lot of stretching and, at times, I don't really like my socks being so wet from the puddles. It's uncomfortable.

But I think I've realized, over the past month or so, that the rain is necessary. No matter how much I might dislike it... no matter how morose it makes me, or how useless it renders my otherwise flawless plans... it always comes.

I think that I've been so focused on the pain and discomfort that the rain causes, that I haven't been willing to take the time to look around and see that there's beauty in the midst of chaos. That, amidst the thunder and lightning, the winds and the downpour... there's a sight that is magnificent to behold.

So I want to learn to dance in the rain. To delight in the discomfort, and to realize that it is for a reason. While I might not see it now, the rain is going to bring growth. It's going to bring nourishment and strenth that this sunshine alone cannot provide.

So I'm putting on my rainboots. I'm getting my umbrella, and I'm splashing in the puddles. I'm running and jumping and remembering that faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see. So while I might not knew when it's coming, I believe that the sun is going to shine again.

Here's to rainbows in the future.

Amanda