The sunshine after the rain

For the last week, it has rained...and rained...and rained.  Dave has looked at me a couple of times like he was ready to leave me in Texas and move back to Arizona where we felt we always had sun.  Even as we design our new home, Dave and Scott (our builder) have to rein me in on how many windows and glass doors I want in our house.  I keep saying, "I promise I won't throw stones. Just make the house all glass!"  But the last week has truly tested our ability to withstand stormclouds, rainy days that pour down torrential rain only to stop for five minutes and start again even harder. The thunder and lightning have freaked out the dogs and have frankly made us all stir crazy.  Then this morning, we awoke to birds chirping and a glorious sunrise.  We had plans with Denise and Mike (our dearest friends in the area and my best friend from high school) today for going to show them our cleared lot (and the stunning forever view it is going to provide) for our house in Bandera (cowboy capital of the world, in case this has somehow escaped your radar), then on to Camp Verde (which lived up to its name with the verdant green grass sloping down to the Verde River), where we had lunch outside on a sun-soaked patio, followed by 9 holes of golf in Comfort, Texas, which gave us multiple opportunities to laugh for hours. 

Maybe it was just all so beautiful because we appreciated it after having so much rain.  Even a glint of sunlight after days of rainshowers maybe becomes more appreciated than taking every sunny day in Tucson for granted. It all reminded me of my fervent love for Nichole Nordeman's song, "Sunrise".  Take a listen if you haven't heard it (or haven't heard it, lately).  I pray it's the balm that will soothe your troubled soul.  

So many of my family and friends have been dealing with troubled times lately.  It is difficult to watch, as we have certainly experienced those troubling times ourselves.  Between dear friends diagnosed with cancer, others losing loved ones, planning the memorial/burial service for our dear brother-in-law, hearing about friends going through a divorce, watching friends watch their parents prepare for the end of their lives, seeing heartbreaking strife between family members, we are seeing so very many thunderstorms. But we have to remind ourselves of a time almost exactly six years ago when I was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer.  We were devastated, of course, and we had to begin living one day at a time and even one hour at a time, as we weren't sure what the next doctor would tell us.  But, six years later, we are on the sunshine side of that devastating storm that threatened our lives together.  How did we do it?  A whole lot of prayer, a huge reliance on our collective sense of humor, and reliance on family and friends to help when it was offered.  

This morning, as I ran through the countryside in the hill country of Texas, where the wildflowers are in full bloom, the cows were lounging in the middle of a most beautiful meadow of the greenest of green grasses, and the deer were leaping over fences, showing off their dexterity, I ran just a little bit faster than I had the week before. Why? Because the sun does come out.  Rays of light are everywhere....in my morning meditation that I share with three of my spiritual buddies; in the raunchy comedian/writer who I am listening to on Audible as I run; we are finding time to drive through the countryside of this great state that we haven't called home since the year after we got married; we are surrounded by dear friends and closer to family than we have EVER lived in our married life.  We are blessed...and the sun has come out to remind us that after the long week of rain, we can appreciate the sun even more...if we just open our eyes, breathe in the fresh air, and listen to the birds welcoming the rooster crowing at the nearby farm.  

God is good...all the time. 
What is your sunshine?  For today, I pray that you know that the rain you might be experiencing will end and the clouds will part, the sun will come out, and you will appreciate the light as though you haven't seen it for years.  

Happy Communicating, friends,

Shelly
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