Trying to relearn the joy of dancing in the rain

It is March. We usually do not have rain in March, at least not as much as we have gotten in the last couple of days … and there is more on the way. My plants and grass are happy because they like dancing in the rain. We often see rain as something to be tolerated, especially when it falls on our days off or weekend or when we have something special planned. “Rain, rain, go away, come again another day!” was a childhood chant said often during the days of summer. We had so much planned. It interfered with our life. Got in the way. Spoiled our fun. But the rain came anyway. It didn’t ask if it could come, it just came. Sometimes it came and stayed around for days on end. When will it stop? Will it ever stop? How much longer?

Life is filled with a lot of “rain stuff” … we cannot plan for it. It comes when we least expect it and stays longer than we desire. As the following story points out, we have to learn to dance in the rain. Good, bad and indifferent “rain stuff” comes our way. We wish it could be different, but it isn’t. We can cry about the lost opportunities. We can regret making certain decisions. We can complain. We can bitch. We can get angry. We can stand and shake our fist at the heavens. We can turn away and try to ignore it. But the “rain stuff” still comes and dampens our days. As the author of this story shares at the end, “Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.”

I’m trying to learn a new “dance” because it seems like it is raining more and more as the knees and hips hurt all the time, cannot do as much as I use to, get tired quickly, the stock market reduced our retirement funds, the housing market crashed and we have two houses, but we had great retirement plans – travel, travel, and travel some more … sometimes it is hard to learn a new dance, but when it is raining do any of us really have a choice? Oh, we can complain about the weather. People do all the time, but the rain still comes anyway. It would be great to capture the joy of Peanuts’ Snoopy as he dances regardless of who or what is happening around him!

And then you have Nehemiah (8:10) stating, “The Joy of the Lord is my strength” and the Psalmist (30:5) that shares, “Joy comes in the morning.” There are no rainbows unless the rain falls. I’m starting to look for the rainbows so as to experience the fullness of the Lord’s joy, but maybe it all begins by learning to dance in the rain. As the quote for today states, “Life has an expiration date!” So, dance while you can regardless … a fond childhood memory was playing in the rain – rain baseball, rain football, rain tag and rain hide-n-seek were really, really fun. Oh, how we would laugh, run, and have so much fun, but then we grew up and it wasn’t fun any longer. I can remember the warm baths after playing in the rain all afternoon. What a great feeling, but now … Oh, to relearn the joy of dancing and playing in the rain … especially the “rain stuff” that life throws at us each day!

The Rain

It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80's arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am.

I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.

While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry.

The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health.

He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer's disease.

As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late.

He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.

I was surprised, and asked him, 'And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?'

He smiled as he patted my hand and said,

'She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is.'

I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, 'That is the kind of love I want in my life.'

True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.

The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

'Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.'

Quote for today: We are all getting older. Tomorrow may be our turn. Enjoy life now -- it has an expiration date! ~Source unknown