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, just outside the door of Walmart.
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, as a child, splashing so carefree, came pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day.
A little girl had been shopping with her mom in Walmart. She must have been
6-years-old. She was a beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of innocence.
Her little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in:
“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 relied.
The young child waited a 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 Dad about his cancer, you said
‘If God can get us through this, He can get us through anything.’ ”
The entire crowd became silent … I swear you couldn’t hear anything but the
rain … We all stood silently. No one left. Mom paused and thought for a moment
about what she should say.
Now some would laugh it off and scold the 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. Let’s run through the rain. If God let’s us get wet, well…maybe we just needed washing.” Mom said.
We all stood watching, smiling and laughing, as they ran across the parking lot, dodging cars and stepping in puddles. They got soaked.
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 our material possessions. They can take away our money. They can take away our health. But nothing and nobody can take away our precious memories. Don’t forget to take the time to make memories every day. To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under Heaven.
They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them,
a day to love them, but then a lifetime to forget them.
“Link” this to the people you’ll never forget. Let them know you are thinking
about them.
Keep in touch with your friends. You never know when you’ll need each other.
Take the time to LIVE!
And DON’T FORGET TO RUN THROUGH THE RAIN!!!
