..Rain..

"For after all, the best thing one can do 

when it's raining is to let it rain." 

- H. W. Longfellow

I have had a long absence from this little blogspot, but the longer I stay away the more the themes of life stay the same. The very difficulties that I write myself out of come back, haunting, returning to see how well I have learned the lessons of yesterday. The cycle of life and struggle and death and eternity will always be the same: a ring of endless light, as Madeleine L'Engle wrote. But to see the light through the struggle, now that is a challenge. Sometimes even the rain can blur my view. I've made plans for the day, I've done everything I can to order my piece of a disordered world, and then I step out the door and ... it's raining.

The pitter-patters and the rushing of a the little rivers sound so peaceful. The rain has come after a long summer drought. It's not enough. But for right now, today, it is. Suddenly I stop hearing my own selfish thoughts, my frustrations, all the drama in my little tiny world. It's raining. For a moment, the world has stopped turning and I just listen.

Suddenly I forget that my dearest grandparents are dead and gone. I forget the loneliness of being home without a husband for thirty-six straight hours. I forget the pain of watching a friend lose their loved one to cancer. I forget that the dog had spread mud from one end of my house to the other, wagging her furry, shedding behind. I forget that I was discontent with myself, my appearance, my attitude. For a moment, the world is nothing more than a beautiful place where God sends down rain, both on the just and the unjust alike. The transcendent beauty of this truth is enough.

When the rain stops, the birds come out and sing and the grass looks greener. The trees are rushing in the breeze, as if to dance because they've had a nice drink. The world goes back to its turning, spinning, whirling state. But I do not. There is something about the rain that makes all things new again... even inside of me, where sin and selfishness so quickly take root. The rain has made the soil in my heart soft, so that the Gardener can pull the weeds out. He can make all things new again.

The troubles of the day, of the week, of the year, can be forgotten. They can be laid at the feet of the Master Gardener. He can cultivate them into something more beautiful than I could ever imagine, if I will let Him. But first, I must stop, and let it rain.

++ Day Five ++

This "week" has grown into two, at least. No matter, though. It's definitely worth stretching out!

Here for day five is sunsets. This may seem like a no-brainer to those of us born and raised here in Nebraska. Living on the plains means that you can see EVERYTHING. FOR MILES. But spending a quarter of the year in Colorado for several years taught me the value of the brilliant Nebraska sunsets. They're simply
divine.

 

Late Summer over the mown grass... the descent is just beginning...

 

Late Summer '09 - this photo has not been edited, my friends. :) 

  

The view across the road on Thanksgiving day.

+++ Day Four +++

There's nothing like a hand-written letter. It's been said that, "In 40 years, no one will be saving bundles 

of emails." But those of us who have had the pleasure of knowing our dear friends through letters will still have those bundled and stored safely away. 

Hand-writing tells so much about a person. In a letter written by their hand, I can hear their tone and inflection speaking the words to me. 

No matter how much time goes by, and how much facebook threatens to re-define "friendship," letters will reign supreme as the elegant, personal way to communicate over the miles.

I am incredibly grateful for the bundles of letters I have received over the years. Each one is a special missive, unlike any other. Some have stamped seals, quotes from books, stickers and glitz, and poetry adorning the envelope. The inkblots and lines that strike through mis-spellings are what make them always and forever superior to electronic communication. They have personality and grace unmatched.

+++ Day Three +++

The week of gratitude continues!! I must confess, I'm enjoying this. It's very good for me to have to spend the whole day contemplating something that I am grateful for - something that's worthy of this list. I find that it keeps the mind and heart cheerfully occupied.. and when the sky is grey and Monday rolls around, there's nothing that can cure the blues like simple gratitude. 

So here's day three ~ Good books. Literature has a wonderful power. It can create an atmosphere where we enlarge our knowledge of the human experience - just by reading the pages in a book. I've spent many good hours in the world of Charlotte Bronte, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkein, and others. Not only does reading do wonders for your personal writing, spelling and composition skills, it's also a delightful way to pass the time. When I need to get out of my own skin, there's no better place to escape than a good book. My shelves are full of the ones that have become like friends to me. Some of those pages are excerpts from my life it seems... and when I read them, it helps me to see that I am part of something bigger. God has written the most dramatic, life-changing story of all time, and in love, He has allowed me to have a page here and there. Praise Him. 

Here's a taste of my favorite lines from recent reads: 

"And now those divine surgeons had me tied down and were at work. My anger protected me only for a short time; anger wearies itself out and truth comes in."    -- "Till We Have Faces," by C.S. Lewis, Pg. 266

"You will not find the warrior, the poet, the philosopher or the Christian by staring into his eyes as if he were your mistress:  better fight beside him, read with him, argue with him, pray with him." -- "The Four Loves," by C.S. Lewis, pg. 71

"No mockery in this world ever sounds to me so hollow as that of being told to cultivate happiness. What odes such advice mean? Happiness is not a potato, to be plated in mould, and tilled with manure. Happiness is a glory shining far down upon us out of Heaven. She is a divine dew which the soul, on certain of it's summer mornings, feels dropping upon it from the amaranth bloom and golden fruitage of Paradise." -- "Villette" by Charlotte Bronte, pg. 283

"True love is not simply an emotional response. It manifests itself in acts of kindness, generosity and those actions that produce the greatest benefit to the object loved." -- "Real Christianity," by William Wilberforce

" I believe in some blending of hope and sunshine sweetening the worst lots. I believe that this life is not all'; neither the beginning nor the end. I believe while I tremble; I trust while I weep." -- "Villette" by Charlotte Bronte, pg. 409

"Live and be happy, beloved children of my heart, and never forget that until the day comes when God shall deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is contained in these words: Wait and Hope!"  -- "Count of Monte Christo," by Alexandre Dumas, pg. 508

+++ Day Two +++

Grandparents: no one can replace them, and there's nothing you can do to change the ones that you're given. They have a reputation for spoiling, fawning and loving more than you deserve, and mine are no exception. Growing up I took them for granted... but losing two of them has cured me of that. 

I am grateful for all of the times we've had together ~ and for the ones yet to come.

 

(top: Henry Sarkis Badeer, bottom left: Almeda Berkey and Marie Kassarjian Badeer - still living!)

+++ Welcome to the Week of Gratitude +++

I was challenged last Sunday (in church, of all places!). It's a rare thing to hear a message that penetrates the heart, and a visiting preacher at a small white church in Firth, NE managed to do it quite nicely. As a response to his challenge, I welcome you to my Week of Gratitude.

Everyday I will post something that I am thankful to God for ~ be it small, "normal" or something significant in the past year of life. At the end of the week, I hope to have gained a good start on thinking of the past in the proper light - gratitude.

DAY ONE  

Good friends, though far away. These are the kind of friends that say, "If there isn't enough snow, we'll BE the snowman!!"    

You drive hundreds of miles to see them ... and still believe firmly that it's worth it.  

When you start quoting your favorite poem, they finish it with a smile. 

If you think the best way to spend a day is visiting Mount Vernon, they'll gladly join you.

They even love you enough to put you in a silly satin dress for their wedding - and then drag you onto the dance floor. 

If you're on a NYC Cruise and you need a date, they oblige. 

What would I do without them??

THANKS be to GOD for them!