The sound of many waters

Rain is a funny thing.

Even though we shower every day, we run inside to get out of the rain. Rain almost always has negative connotations at the time it is falling. 

Today I was running a PA system for a friend's daughter's outdoor wedding and there were huge looming black clouds moving in quick. As soon as the ceremony started, so did the rain. I started thinking about this rain thing while I was breaking down all the sound equipment in the pouring rain. What I faced at that moment was a choice between two opposite reactions to my immediate situation. I could either be angry or upset that I was getting soaked while I was getting the equipment to safety under a tarp in the bed of my truck, or I could enjoy the moment.

There was a time in my life that rainstorms used to get me excited, and I would run out into the wind and rain and lightening and watch this wonderful creation rage and rumble. I remember specifically a rainstorm in which I went out with my brother and my uncle and we ran through mud puddles and covered ourselves in mud until there was not a clean spot on us. When the rain quit, we would wait in the bushes for cars to drive by, and we would jump out and flail our arms and whoop and holler as if our muddied bodies were terrifying to the drivers by. Mostly we got strange looks and a few laughs.



As I hurried to get the sound equipment into my truck and back to the church to whom it belonged, I thought about all these things, and I decided that being soaked was not that bad at all. Maybe a little inconvenient for someone handling electrical equipment, but that was all. I regretted feeling initially upset about the rain, and I actually was happy that this storm had taken my down this rabbit hole of wonderful memories. 

Perspectives change as you grow up, and rain can be inconvenient at times, especially when you have to walk around in wet clothes. But I never want to let myself get to the point that rain stops me from enjoying the day when it falls. Rain produces wonderful smells, colors, sounds and if you can still grasp your youthful thinking, it creates great opportunities for play.