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Tag: #DanceintheRain

Puddle Play

“Life is like a puddle~ you can stand on the edge and watch the reflection of what is…. Or you can jump in and create a wave.”  (Kristine Peterson)

I read this quote and instantly fell in love.  It resonated throughout my whole being as I realized that this was the reason that just last week, I stopped everything and took myself outside with the boys.  There was finally a break in the rain that had left an ocean of puddles.  The boys asked if they could jump in them and I said, “of course”!  An earlier blog mentions how I often allow, encourage, my children to find that childhood joy only found by playing in the puddles.  It was just after 4:30pm on Friday, I poured a glass of wine and sat in the front watching the smiles and listening to their laughter.  The street, busier than usual, as neighbors were driving home from work, grinning and waving as they saw the boys.  I remember wondering how many of them remembered the days they too had played in the rain.

That thought led me to question why we stop seeing the puddle as an opportunity but as an obstacle.  I had recently become this person.  This past week had been more trying then most, filled with a multitude of spirit breaking trials.  (Why there was No Wednesday Blog last week)  Our oven blew a coil and I had to wait a week for a replacement.  Then a valve broke that shut the water off for 48 hours.  Living without was more difficult than I could have ever imagined.  It was one thing after another for so many days that I was ready to blow my own fuse.  Then the benefit of social media let me read a post.  Gratefully not a political rant, but one of blessing, as a Facebook friend was grateful that they had made it home safe to kiss their children after barely avoiding a most likely fatal accident.  I took pause, thinking how my difficult week was not even near the tragedy that others may have faced.

It is important to always remember to count your blessings and be grateful that if there is a puddle as an obstacle on your path, keep moving forward.  If the puddle is too big to step around then use that opportunity to leap in and make a wave.

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Dance in the Rain

raindance

“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. 

 

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