A little girl had been shopping with her Mom in Target. She must have been 6
years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of innocence. It
was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain
gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the
spout.
We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the Target.
We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their
hurried day. I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I got lost in the sound and
sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories
of running, splashing so carefree as a child came pouring in as a welcome
reprieve from the worries of my day.
The little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all
caught in ‘Mom let’s run through the rain,’ she said. ‘What?’ Mom asked.
‘Let’s run through the rain!’ She repeated.
‘No, honey. We’ll wait until it slows down a bit,’ Mom replied.
This young child waited about another minute and repeated: ‘Mom, let’s run
through the rain,’
‘We’ll get soaked if we do,’ Mom said.
‘No, we won’t, Mom. That’s not what you said this morning,’ the young girl
said as she tugged at her Mom’s arm.
This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?
‘Don’t you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you
said, ‘If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!’
The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn’t hear anything but
the rain. We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few
minutes. Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say.
Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even
ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young
child’s life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will
bloom into faith.
‘Honey, you are absolutely right. Let’s run through the rain. If GOD lets us
get wet, well, maybe we just need a good washing.’
Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they
darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles. They held their shopping
bags over their heads just in case. They got soaked. But they were followed
by a few others who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their
cars.
And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet.
I needed washing.
[copied]
~~
Dr Bob Griffin
[email protected] www.grif.net
“Jesus Knows Me, This I Love!”