Learning to Dance in the Rain

 This may be a little sappy...sorry up front.

Life the past few months has been a little stressful.  No, I won't be going into detail because I still don't have definitive answers....just more questions.  So there is really no point in discussing that which is floating about.

Anyhoo, needless to say, I have been more than stressed and so has the fam.  One of my favorite quotes is:

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass,

but about learning to dance in the rain.

Yesterday, we had a wonderful summer storm.  And most importantly, with no lightening, which meant we could all play in the rain.  The kids, except for Noah, all enjoyed the umbrellas and trying to dart through the pelting rain drops while I sat on the porch taking pictures. 

While I was sitting there, I had one of my famous moments of reflection that resulted in a personal epiphany.  Yeah, it was an AH-HA moment.  I was watching the kids and smiling, like most parents do, when I had to ask myself, when was the last time I got off of the sidelines and jumped in and laughed? 

So after the kids used the basketball hoop to block the gutter and create a pond, I jumped in.  Literally.  And we laughed, and we played, and we jumped in puddles.  I had one neighbor yelling out the window about what a nut I was (DUH) and another on her porch asking me if I had been stressed much...Ummmm, yeah.  And while I laughed with my neighbors and at my soaking wet children I decided, there are a lot worse things than running in the rain, jumping in the puddles or being soaking wet for the entire world to see.

So we stayed out and played for about an hour, kicking water at each other, catching raindrops in our mouths and giggling to our hearts content.  Not only did we play, we danced, enjoyed and just let our hearts soar.

It's so easy to turn a blind eye to the miracles that surround us every day.  Especially, when you are wrapped up in a stressful situation.  But when you open your eyes, and your heart, you realize, God hasn't forgotten you, He's been sending the blessings, it's more likely you haven't been watching for them.

Yesterdays rain storm was my miracle.

Lessons Learned

1.  Laughter cleanses the soul.

2. Watching children be happy...well sometimes there are no words.

3. Being a part of what makes your children happy...there are definitely no words.

4. Being surrounded by darkness, only makes the light that much more sweet.

5. Size doesn't matter when it comes to miracles.