“Too often man handles life as he does the bad weather.  He whiles away the time as he waits for it to stop.”

– Alfred Polgar

A nor’easter blew into town this week.  Rain fell in torrents that cleaned the streets and filled the gutters with rushing water that swept them clean and finally gurgled into the storm sewer below the ground.  The winds blew and challenged the trees to hold onto their branches.  The air was filled with hundreds of colorful leaves, all falling at once and hastening the progress of Fall.  As Autumn blew by my window, I remembered the glory of summer rain that called me outside to dance in its softness and celebrate the gift of life-bringing water.  Then I recalled the harsh snow of last winter that buried us deep in muffled white and suspended us in a world that seemed to stand still in time.

The soft rains of summer; a cold, windy autumn storm; the deep piles of snow — all bring the same gift, wrapped in different packaging, yet we celebrate one and we endure the next.  The showers of Spring bring warming to the frozen ground and release the melting snow from its heaps of white and let the earth claim its bounty.  The cold rain of Fall rushes quickly by and finds its way to the depths of the earth, hurrying ahead of the days when the freeze will limit its journey.  Water brings life to our planet and all who dwell here.  Should we only celebrate the warm summer rain?  Should we only dance when the days are light and warm?

Our lives are a lot like the gift of water as it falls from the heavens to restore our world.  There are days when the music is easy to hear, and our feet begin dancing without hesitation.  There are days when we long for the dancing days and might find ourselves wishing away some of the time we are given.  Not all water falls as soft summer rain, and not all of life unfolds as smooth, sunny days.  We must look beyond the packaging and see the gift that arrives in so many different forms.  We must celebrate when the winds blow, when the mud is deep, and even when time seems frozen and captured by sadness or grief.  Our hearts know the joy of the rain, and our spirits know the joy of living.  They dance, even when our feet are still and we must strain to hear the music.

When the weather is harsh and life brings challenges, let’s remember the joy of the rain in summer.  Dance!