I have invited some
people I know to contribute to my blog. I asked them to share some of their
experiences and thoughts about life, God, hardships, etc. Here is the first of
a few. This is by Lisa Christensen.
"There are many impressive things in the world. Utah
rain is typically not one of them. But on one spring day last year, the clouds
opened up and released the kind of heavy, sustained sheets of water that have
been the backdrop for many a passionate movie kiss.
"I love rain, and would have been more inclined to
celebrate the miracle of substantial precipitation were I not two miles from
home and without a car in the middle of the night. The clouds had begun to
break just before I left a friend's house. I had loaned out my car, and had the
borrowers drop me off for a party. It had not been raining when I had left my
car and I did not think to take an umbrella. It also did not occur to me to ask
anyone for a ride. For some reason, on that rainy spring night, I simply hoofed
it.
"The first several blocks were pleasant, an adventure.
Running between the raindrops was impossible, but leaping over small puddles in
the sidewalks or streams rushing down the storm drains was fun, and I was
enjoying the novelty. By the time I approached a mile, though, my clothes were
soaked through and my hair was dripping wet.
"Coming down the home stretch of more than a half mile
in length, I finally found a tree big and broad enough to give a little dry
cover against the rainstorm. As it happened, this blessed respite was across
the street from the Logan Utah Temple. The bright light emanating from its
white domes, perhaps made more brilliant in contrasting the angry, dark clouds
above.
"Huddling there against the magnificent tree with the
temple standing so near, my shivering was suddenly insignificant and my sopping
clothes no longer mattered. In the peace that took the place of those temporal
problems, I finally noticed the stillness echoing amidst the raindrops.
"Of course, I couldn't stay there forever. It was still
pouring and midnight and I was still several blocks away from a hot shower and
warm bed. And I realize I should have called someone at some point, which
eventually became more a point of pride than forgetfulness, but this is not a
story about stubbornness. This is a story about moments of peace amidst storms
literal and figurative.
"Life is hard. I don't believe it's much of a stretch
to apply the literal raindrops to the figurative bombardment of hardship and
difficulty we face every day. And they might seem novel at first, but the
torrent of anger and contention and woe that seem to fill most arenas of our
modern world wears on the body and soul of a person. Everyone needs a tree under
which to stand, if only for a minute, and become refreshed in the image of God
and things greater than a little rain. Church or temple attendance are
certainly shelters, as can be meetings with good friends or family, or even
taking a moment to revel in miracle that is life and the universe and
everything.
"And then can we head back into the tempest, perhaps
not yet dry but ready again to face and endure for a little longer."
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