"HAVE YOU HAD YOUR SHOWER FROM ABOVE?"
A slice of Life by V. Bee
August 5th, 2005
Recently,
I took three of my eldest grandchildren for a shopping excursion at one
of those huge, we-have-it-all discount stores. My granddaughter,
who is a beautiful little red-haired six-year old child, is a freckle
faced image of innocence.
When we came out of the store, it was pouring rain outside. The kind of
rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, in such a hurry to hit
the earth it has no time to flow down the spout. We and other
shoppers stood under the awning and just inside the door of the
store. Some waited patiently, while others looked to be downright
irritated because nature had messed up their hurried day.
I have always been mesmerized by rainfall. That day, 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 back in a rush. My granddaughter’s little voice was
so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in.
She was tugging at my arm. "Grandma, let's run through the rain."
""What?" I said, giving her my attention. "Lets run through
the rain!" she repeated. "No, honey,” I told her. “We'll
wait until it slows down a bit." My granddaughter was quiet for
about another minute, then said again, “Grandma! let's run through the
rain!" "But we'll get soaked if we do," I replied. "No, we
won't, Grandma. That's not what you said this morning." She
pouted. “This morning?” I said. “When did I say we could
run through the rain and not get wet?”
"Don't you remember, Grandma?” My granddaughter was giving me a puzzled
look. “When you were talking to Daddy about his hurt hands, you said,
'If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!" (My
son is a professional chef; he had burned his hands in a kitchen
accident and was unable to work for several weeks.)
The entire crowd stopped - it was as though it was dead silent.
The only constant sound was the rain hitting the pavement. No one
came or left the store in the next few minutes. I paused and
thought for a moment about what I could say. Some would laugh it
off and scold her (because she’s a child) 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,” I decided.. “Yes, let's all of us
run through the rain. If God lets us get wet, well maybe we all
just needed washing," And with that, off we ran, through the parking
lot to the car. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as
other shoppers followed suit and darted past other vehicles to their
cars through the puddles. Some held their shopping bags over
their heads as then ran. We got soaked - actually, everybody got
soaked. But a few, including myself and the kids, screamed and
laughed like children all the way to the car. And yes, so did
I... I ran... I got wet... I must have needed washing, too.
Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, your
money and possibly even 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. Take the time to
live!!!
I hope that all of you out there will always take the time to run through the rain.
For more articles by V. Bee, visti her archives...
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