Housebound
“Everything is a gift. The degree to
which we are awake to this truth is a measure of our gratefulness, and gratefulness
is a measure of our aliveness.”
David Steindl-Rast
We’ve had two days of continuous rain with two more to go
according to our local weather forecasters. My yard and the street and
everything around me squish when I step foot on them. Liza smells like a grungy
dirt-dauber. There is flooding in low lying areas of town because the storm
drains are overwhelmed. I was so tired of being housebound that I sat in front
of the tv last night and ate chocolate ice cream out of the carton. My friend
Isie texted that she was baking a pumpkin pie which she would eat “en toto.” This
is not good, y’all. We need a break in this weather.
So, I’m working on gratitude before I put three more pounds
around my waist. I am grateful for the rain. Our aquafers are refilled, our
rivers are getting a good clean out, and our water supply is not in danger of running
low. That’s a big deal, you know. Even though seventy per cent of the earth is
covered with water, only 2.5 percent of it is fresh water. Many places are
desperate for potable water. So, having reservoirs refill every year is
something to be grateful for. Right?
I remind myself that winter is our wet season. Remember that
drought last summer when the temperatures stayed in the 90’s for weeks without
one drop of rain. Everything wilted, including me and Liza. Thank you for
letting me process my cabin fever; I’m feeling ever so grateful for the rain
now. (Okay, but I’m getting there. Gratitude, gratitude…)
Father David Steindl-Rast writes, “People who have faith
in life are like swimmers who entrust themselves to a rushing river. They neither
abandon themselves to its current nor try to resist it. Rather they adjust their
every movement to the watercourse, use it with purpose and skill, and enjoy the
adventure.” I love that image, and we wouldn’t have rivers without rain,
right? Why not go with the flow, and match its movement drop for drop. Since
there are lots of drops out there. Lots and lots of drops. And, we will have at
least two more days of drops.
Ok, so I’m sick and tired of rain. But I do have faith in
life. The rain will end, and the sun will return. Life will go on. I can float
on this river, or I can fight it. Wonder where it’s going. Who will I meet
along the way? Is it flowing south where the sun is shining on some beautiful
beach…where it’s NOT raining?
Y’all pray for me. I hate being housebound.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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