Have you ever just stood in the Rain?
I stood in the rain this morning. I’m not really sure why. It was dreary and rainy all morning. I was sitting out on my front porch reading my Bible and sipping a cup of hot cocoa when it started really raining. I mean raining hard. I put my Bible in my chair and walked out into the middle of the yard and just stood there. It was raining and I just stood there. I'm sure if my neighbors had seen me they would have thought me crazy. I could make this super spiritual and say I was thanking God for the rain or the provision, but that would be a lie. I simply wasn't thinking about anything nor did I have any purpose for standing in the rain. It was cold and the rain drops were large and beautiful.
And I just stood there.
And I smiled.
I used to play in the rain a lot as a child. And I loved it. I remember going outside in those stupid yellow rubber boots and a yellow plastic rain coat. Running around splashing in the puddles and spinning in circles trying to catch raindrops in my mouth. There was something fantastic about the lack of control you had when it rained. You had no control over how wet you got; you just stand there and let nature do its thing. And I would always just stand there in the rain, with a huge smile plastered on my face.
One day I grew up though and rain became more of an inconvenience. It cancelled baseball games. It made it harder to drive. It ruined plans with friends.
So, I stopped standing in the rain. In fact, I started to resent it.
Some days I hate being a "grown-up", and for countless reasons. You have to do... well...grown up stuff! However, I think the most important thing that we lose as we age is our ability to accept chaos. Chaos is beautiful, Chaos is part of life. Instead, when chaos happens and something we don’t want gets in the way of our plans, we get angry.
When I was young, I would run outside when I heard thunder and saw rain. Now I worry more about how it’s going to affect traffic or if it's going to slow my day down. But today, today just I stood in the rain with the same enjoyment and reckless abandon that I had when I was eight. My rain jacket has been replaced with a button up collared shirt, my rubber boots with work boots, and my umbrella with a backpack full of a computer, papers, planners, and notes from meetings. But there is still a childish essence to life that I refuse to give up.
When was the last time you really did something that your eight-year-old self would have liked? When was the last time you played on a jungle gym? When was the last time you decided to go swinging or build a fort in the back yard? When was the last time you decided to play in the mud, throw water balloons at people, or lay in the floor with crayons and a coloring book watching cartoons?
Well, I can tell you what I did.
I stood in the rain. And I wasn’t worried about how it would affect my health. I wasn't worried about what my neighbors would think. I wasn’t worried about how it was soaking my clothes. I wasn’t worried about how it was messing up my hair.
I just stood in the rain.
And I Smiled.
I stood in the rain this morning. I’m not really sure why. It was dreary and rainy all morning. I was sitting out on my front porch reading my Bible and sipping a cup of hot cocoa when it started really raining. I mean raining hard. I put my Bible in my chair and walked out into the middle of the yard and just stood there. It was raining and I just stood there. I'm sure if my neighbors had seen me they would have thought me crazy. I could make this super spiritual and say I was thanking God for the rain or the provision, but that would be a lie. I simply wasn't thinking about anything nor did I have any purpose for standing in the rain. It was cold and the rain drops were large and beautiful.
And I just stood there.
And I smiled.
I used to play in the rain a lot as a child. And I loved it. I remember going outside in those stupid yellow rubber boots and a yellow plastic rain coat. Running around splashing in the puddles and spinning in circles trying to catch raindrops in my mouth. There was something fantastic about the lack of control you had when it rained. You had no control over how wet you got; you just stand there and let nature do its thing. And I would always just stand there in the rain, with a huge smile plastered on my face.
One day I grew up though and rain became more of an inconvenience. It cancelled baseball games. It made it harder to drive. It ruined plans with friends.
So, I stopped standing in the rain. In fact, I started to resent it.
Some days I hate being a "grown-up", and for countless reasons. You have to do... well...grown up stuff! However, I think the most important thing that we lose as we age is our ability to accept chaos. Chaos is beautiful, Chaos is part of life. Instead, when chaos happens and something we don’t want gets in the way of our plans, we get angry.
When I was young, I would run outside when I heard thunder and saw rain. Now I worry more about how it’s going to affect traffic or if it's going to slow my day down. But today, today just I stood in the rain with the same enjoyment and reckless abandon that I had when I was eight. My rain jacket has been replaced with a button up collared shirt, my rubber boots with work boots, and my umbrella with a backpack full of a computer, papers, planners, and notes from meetings. But there is still a childish essence to life that I refuse to give up.
When was the last time you really did something that your eight-year-old self would have liked? When was the last time you played on a jungle gym? When was the last time you decided to go swinging or build a fort in the back yard? When was the last time you decided to play in the mud, throw water balloons at people, or lay in the floor with crayons and a coloring book watching cartoons?
Well, I can tell you what I did.
I stood in the rain. And I wasn’t worried about how it would affect my health. I wasn't worried about what my neighbors would think. I wasn’t worried about how it was soaking my clothes. I wasn’t worried about how it was messing up my hair.
I just stood in the rain.
And I Smiled.
