“It is not about waiting for the storm to pass, but learning how to dance in the rain.”
This is the quote that I have framed next to the mirror in my restroom so I can’t help but see it every day. Such a simple concept, right? Take joy in the here and now, no matter your surroundings. I foolishly believed that this was how I already lived my life, or at least how I tried to live my life. Life has a funny way of taking everything that you think you know and changing it up on you. Just when you think that you have it all figured out, all your ducks in a row, waiting to take on the world….. you trip, that stumble turns into a fall, and suddenly everything is in a downward spiral no matter how hard you try to hold on. I work hard to keep myself motivated, mostly because I am a mother and I can’t afford to fail. I am determined to be all that I can be for my sons, so that they will know that I never gave up, no matter how complicated and difficult the situation.
Which brings me to why I am writing today. The last six weeks of my life have been a roller coaster that took me on such ride that I can barely tell one day from the next, as it feels like, in between the highs and lows, I must be on a merry-go-round of dizziness. I didn’t expect to dance, because I couldn’t even walk in the rain, I was being soaked to the bone in this storm. Finally, I cried out to God why He couldn’t give me shelter, a raincoat or umbrella to fight some of the wet and cold. I stood in my independence asking God what I had done to deserve all that was happening. I felt as if I was following His Will, I was certainly trying hard. I questioned how much I needed to endure before I could feel His grace. That was when I heard it…… I heard Him tell me to just look up, and I saw His hand extended to raise me off my knees. I felt contrite, but still arrogant, as I placed my hand in his, immediately warm and dry, although the storm was still over us. Yet, He did not just help me to my feet, He held me in an embrace so that I could once again, dance in the rain. I leaned my head against His shoulder and realized my foolishness. God does not ask us to struggle on our own but to lean on Him. He is my Father and when I was too young to dance, he held me up so I could stand on His feet as he would spin me around. Now, I am older and I tend to look to Him less and less, forgetting that He always held me up, instead blaming Him for not being there, when it was I, which failed to pay attention to His offer of support.
It is through the Joy of Christ that We learn to Dance in the Rain.
