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Running
Through The Rain
A little
girl had been shopping
with her Mom in Wal-Mart. She must have been 6 years old, this
beautiful red
haired, freckle faced image of innocence. It was pouring
outside. The
kind of
rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to
hit the
earth it has no time to flow down the spout. We all stood there
under
the
awning and just inside the door of the Wal-Mart.
We waited, some patiently,
others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day. I am
always
mesmerized by rainfall. I got lost in the sound and sight of the
heavens
washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running,
splashing so
carefree as a child came pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the
worries of
my day. The little voice was so sweet
as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in as the little
girl said, "Mom, let's run
through the rain!"
"What?" Mom asked.
"Let 's run through the
rain!" She repeated.
"No, honey. We'll wait
until it slows down a bit”, Mom replied.
This young child waited about
another minute and repeated: "Mom, let's run through the rain!"
"We'll get soaked if we do," Mom said.
"No, we won't, Mom. That's
not what you said this morning," the young girl said as she tugged at
her
Mom's arm.
"This morning? When did I say we
could run through the rain and not get wet?"
"Don't you remember? When
you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, 'If God can get
us
through this, he can get us through anything!"
The entire crowd stopped dead
silent. I swear you couldn't hear anything but the rain. We
all stood
silently.
No one came or left in the next few minutes.
Mom paused and thought for a
moment about what she would say. Now some would laugh it off and
scold
her for
being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this
was a
moment of
affirmation in a young child's life. A time when innocent trust
can be
nurtured
so that it will bloom into faith.
"Honey, you are absolutely
right. Let's run through the rain. If God let's us get wet,
well
maybe we just
needed washing," Mom said.
Then off they ran. We all stood
watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and, yes,
through
the puddles. They held their shopping bags over their heads just
in
case. They
got soaked. But they were followed by a few who screamed and
laughed
like
children all the way to their cars.
And yes, I did. I ran. I got
wet. I needed washing.
Circumstances or people can
take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and
they
can take away your health. But no one can ever take away your
precious
memories. So, don't forget to make time and take the
opportunities to
make
memories everyday. To everything there is a season and a time to
every
purpose
under heaven.
I hope you still take the time to run through
the rain.
They say it takes a minute to
find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them,
but then
an entire life to forget them.
Keep in touch with your
friends, you never know when you'll need each other. And don't
forget
to run
in the rain!
Contributed
by
Bette Boscacci
Defining
Moments
Archives
Copyright
© 2006, Jace Carlton. All International Rights Reserved.
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