Thoughts on a Rainy Evening

I know I shall always have the opportunity to be happy*, because I am able to enjoy lots of types of weather. I know that troubles will come. In fact, I am facing a trouble right now. But there should never be despair. I will never have to face hopelessness. There will always be some sort of weather I can delight in. Now, there are some sorts of weather I am not especially fond of, like the hot, muggy days of summer. But there are still things I can take happiness in. The green, the way the grass moves in the wind, the relief of a breeze, the way the sun comes through a window.

I heard that by the end of today we are supposed to receive three inches of rain. It's raining, it's windy, it's cold. I love it. I love rain, because A) it's water falling from the sky. If that's not the coolest thing ever I don't know what is! and B) it is life. All over the world, people need rain. And we are blessed to have it. I feel loved walking through the rain. I like walking through puddles and looking down because it is like I am walking in the sky. I like holding out my hands and watching the water droplets splash into my palms. I like catching water on my tongue. Water straight from the sky, no man-made contraptions in my way. I like watching the puddles fill, the little streams run in street gutters. I like having hair wet from sky water.

I love wind. I feel accomplished walking through wind. I feel strong. Wind reminds me of God's power. Spirit. Breath. I like the sound of wind in the trees and the grass. I like feeling the pressure of the wind against my face. And when you add wind with rain, or snow, or sleet, you get power and life, power and playfulness. It's beautiful.

I love sunshine. I love a blue sky. I like watching the birds fly beneath it, notice the airplanes as they buzz by, I like the light reflecting, shadows of tree limbs on brick buildings, the feel of warm sunshine on my face. I like big puffy clouds. I like reflections of the sky in water. I like watching fall leaves float down beneath blue, winter trees bask in the warm glow, green buds of leaves and awake in spring against that strong blue, the hawks soar on warm currents over the forests in summer.

There is something delightful about snow. It is quiet and unassuming. It is gentle. It's beautiful. The cold that comes with it delights the tip of my nose and my ears. It's lovely to smile and realize my teeth are cold. I like a sunny day with snow reflecting, everything bright and beautiful. I like a cloudy day with snow, everything pale. I like trudging through snow, trying to keep my footing, following footsteps or making my own path. I like catching snowflakes on my mittens or gloves. I like the awakening that comes with a snowflake in the eye.

And when spring comes, the rain comes again. And thunderstorms full of power and joy. And puddles to jump in, and crisp mornings and warm afternoons. And soft breezes.

Delightful things!

I think sometimes it is necessary to wonder. Sometimes I think it is necessary to enjoy having your hair be wet all day, because of the rain. Sometimes I think it is necessary to enjoy the things you cannot control, the things that are more powerful than any human. Sometimes I think it is necessary to buy ice cream and walk in the rain while eating it, even if it is crazy. Even if you might catch a cold. Sometimes I think it is necessary to spin around in the snow, or close your eyes and stick your face into the wind, or unwrap your scarf for a moment to feel the nip of icy air on your ears. Sometimes I think it is necessary to walk through the puddles and look down, but up into the sky at the same time, to wonder a bit, to marvel.

So then, even if you are depressed and stressed, and you feel as though you have so much passion that is not being put to use because you haven't the foggiest idea how to use it on your own, you still have something to wonder at, something to take delight in. Something you did not make. Something no human made. Something that is fresh and real.

I am so blessed, to have been given this sense of wonder. Try it with me?

*I say happy, and I mean happy. I think joy is a completely different thing. We, the followers of JC, are called to have joy in all circumstances. I think joy is not this coming and going emotion. I think joy is a harder, softer, thing to grasp, deeper than happiness. But here, I will always have something to be happy about, something to delight in.