THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

Longfellow said, "Into each life a little rain must fall," and what an inspired weatherman he was. It may be the only forecast guaranteed 100 percent accurate for everyone. The friend or acquaintance that you assume "have it all" is a fellow passenger on this ride we call life. They have their rainy days too.

Rain has a bad reputation. A symbol of misfortune, it is often associated with melancholy and suffering and misrepresented as a defect in the way life should be. But as any farmer can tell you: if there is no rain, there's no growth.

As I reflect on the experiences of my mortal education, I feel that I am walking through a rainstorm. Sometimes it is muddy and sometime clean and refreshing, but never quite picture perfect. Never, unless I decide to look at my life as though it were rain on a flower garden.

Foliage loves the rain even though the life giving shower often puts stress on the stems, leafs and flowers. Following the rain those blooms are washed clean and their colors are vivid and brilliant. Flowers raise their glistening heads on stronger stalks.

In life we experience both gentle showers and sudden and unpredictable cloudbursts. The attitude with which we embrace them and the beauty we find in their unpredictability and necessity will determine whether or not we have the courage to venture out in the rain again.

I am grateful God has loved me enough to send the rain and allow me to be able to walk in it, muddy and sticky or clean and refreshing. Each storm provides opportunities to grow and the joy of splashing in those lovely puddles.

Come dearest friends and walk and run in the rain with me. Let us laugh and cry together and if we are lucky get our feet just a little bit wet!