Before I got off the subway, I knew it was raining. As I stepped off the train onto the platform, the scent of a fresh, spring rain wafted by.
I took a deep breath. Ahhhhh.
I had glanced out the window several times that day and wondered if the promised storm was coming after all. It was sunny and warm and all we hardy Canadians could talk about was our excitement about the arrival of spring. We stared out the window at the garden, spotting green leaves and snowdrops poking through. It had been the longest, coldest of winters and we were so ready for robins and raindrops.
Truthfully, I was hoping the raindrops would wait until I got home. I have hair issues and rain is not kind to my thin locks. Of course, rain going home is better than rain going to work, where it’s an absolute disaster. But rain when I was safe inside was the best of all.
It was not to be. Running from subway to train did damage to my hair. The carefully fluffed and hairsprayed style of the morning was stringy and flattened. Racing from train to my car destroyed it completely, with streams trickling down my back. Oh well.
Standing on the train, I gazed out the window and smelled the rain. It would have been nice to be dry, and even better to get a seat but if I was sitting I would have missed watching the tall grasses do their funny, jerky dance in the wind. I wouldn’t have noticed the slight greening of the lawns or the swelling buds on the still-naked trees. I wouldn’t have smelled the rain.
I learned a lesson that day.
There will be rain. Life has its storms and they require a whole different set of skills, but the little showers each day can bring me down if I let them. The missed bus, the forgotten lunch, the person who cuts me off in the parking lot. The missed call, the forgotten bithday, the person who takes forever in the grocery line. Life’s little annoyances can irritate me and cause me to forget what is important.
Whenever there is rain, I need to look for the blessing. Is there a reason I wasn’t on that bus? Should I have lunch with a co-worker because I forgot the salad I usually eat alone? Is there a blessing I am missing because I am focusing on my irritation?
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7
Smell the rain.