Play in the Rain.

     Apparently our summer up here in the northland is coming to an end. You may remember that when I first moved here to New Zealand last September I often commented (OK, whined) about the constant rain and lack of sunshine.  Then it came. .. the sunshine!  Mid-January found us finally experiencing some absolutely glorious summer days! Blue skies and warmth were on the menu, with only the occasional light shower to keep things green- ahhh. Summer was finally here!  Most days I even dared venture out without my umbrella in hand! This was perfect weather for my half-marathon training, surfing, and really just for me, as a sun-loving girl from Kansas.

     Now, after only a few weeks of relatively dry, sunny weather, the rain has returned.  I was noticing that periods of rain occurred nearly everyday this week and that the mountains were often shrouded in a thick fog each morning.  The first few days I wondered if we just happened to be caught in a rainy spell.  After all, we live on a narrow island in the South Pacific. But for the last 2 days it has rained nearly non-stop and after remembering that we had finally been receiving a steady dose of sunshine each day over the last couple weeks, I had this thought. . ."Oh no, does the return of the rain mean the farewell of summer?"  Apparently, after some deliberation with northland Kiwis, the answer to that question is "yes". The air is still warm and the sky is still full of light at 8:00PM, but that is gradually changing as we move toward the autumn season.  Summer was fantastic while it lasted, but . . .

 "For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven." (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

  Perhaps you find yourself in a season of rain, maybe even the kind of rain that never stops and lays what feels to be a wet sheet over your life and inner attitude. Maybe you can learn to what I am slowly learning to do here in New Zealand: embrace the rain, play in the rain, run in the rain. .  . for it is the rain that makes the flowers grow, the rivers run, and crops flourish, feeding myself and the ones I love.  May your thirst be quenched and you be fed by the rain of your life. 

Play in the rain.