I will probably never master the art of walking in the rain.
This morning, I was looking at the pants and shoes of those whose fate I likewise suffer: walk in the rain to work. Yet, unlike their perfectly clean pants and dry shoes, mine was already blotched with mud and half-permeated in rainwater.
Today, I also feel like walking in the rain. Others are just good at pretending. But I can't. My shoes and pants show.
There are happy days. And there are gloomy days. The wise teacher of the Book of Ecclesiastes said many, many years ago:
For everything there is a season,
a time for ever activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to mend and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace.
What do people really get for all their hard work? I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. Yet God has made everything beautiful in its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end. So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.
We all have rainy days. And I will never "enjoy" it. No one does and no one will. But I pray for faith that, at least, I have allowed the rain until I am drenched with nothing but love. For even if I trip or get nastily uncomfortable, I know the sun is just around the corner.
hahah tlagang umabot sa "for everything there is a season".... ako naman, ang lesson sa akin ng rain, "rain is good." i mean, i hate getting wet din; i hate it when my umbrellas get destroyed by strong wind, i hate it when i get wet anyway when i use my umbrella; i hate having my shoes wet also because i know they will die soon after; i hate wet clothes especially when the workplace is airconditioned; i hate getting sick just from a little rain; i hate rain traffic; i hate that some of my shortcuts are impassable when it rains.... but whenever it rains, i have learned not to whisper a prayer that the rain should stop; i usually start praying when the rain is too strong and too long, because that also brings danger and harm... but i hardly pray for the rain to stop. because i know the earth needs it, the plants need it, the streets need it, waterless places need it... young kids need it - for a day or two of vacation; workaholics need it - so they can slow their pace down, limited by the rain; taxi drivers need it - for more passengers; and i would say many more need it... to me the sound, the feel, the idea of rain is therapeutic: to me it reminds me of the the time of Noah, where after the storm, the rainbow signifying the covenant appeared. you know a rainbow only appears when the sun is out but there is still some rain in the air... therefore, rain to me is reminiscent of cleansing, renewing, refreshing... rain is good....
ReplyDeleteHahaha! Eh kasi, when all else fails, Ate Jeanne, God has a way of bringing me back to His Word. Tapos, sinabi pa niya na wala siyang ibang conclusion but to "enjoy" whatever God brings. Eh di, enjoy. I get extra emotional during rainy days. Really. I am a sun-person. Thanks for these random yet very wise thoughts. :)
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