Rain

It's 9:30 p.m., and I'm lying on my bed listening to the rain pound against the window. I find it a bit ironic how similar life's circumstances are to the rain. There are those times when I think a tornado would be the best way to describe how I feel--how life is quick, unpredictable and scary. Then, there are other moments when it's as it is now outside my window.

I can hear the hail, wind and rain only growing stronger with force. I'm not afraid because I like storms and I'm familiar with these types. Oh, it still causes me, subconsciously, to be a bit more on guard, wondering if perhaps there might be extreme severe weather to follow. But the sounds are familiar enough to bring the reassuring comfort that things will turn out fine.

And then of course...there's that last type of rainy weather. It's the gentle, soothing rain--like that on a summer afternoon, the kind they make CDs of so people can spend 15 dollars to feel like they're sleeping in a rainforest. It's the kind you can dance in without inhibitions of lightening strikes or blowing winds...the kind that makes life a little more worth living because of the fresh feeling to follow.

For me, I've felt the hail storm in my life lately. I realize that life isn't worth living without feeling and emotion. However, it's that risk...that wondering...'what if I try this, and I fail; what if it doesn't work?' that makes it even more difficult. I don't like to get hurt or to hurt others, but this type of rain storm makes no promises of how we'll feel in the end. It simply invites us to take a risk.

So while there's much unknown, there is this one thing I've learned about this type of rain. I may not be able to control the winds or the strength of the hail, but I do determine how much debris I'll carry around.

So what's the forecast in your neck of the woods?