Conversations overheard are lessons in life sometimes
even more powerful than those we are a part of. This brief encounter
filled my day to capacity—if only they knew the gift they gave
me.
She must have been six years old, this beautiful brown-haired, freckled-faced
image of innocence. Her Mom looked like someone from the Walton’s
or a moment captured by Norman Rockwell. Not that she was old fashioned—her
brown hair was ear length with enough curl to appear natural. She had
on a pair of shorts and light blue knit shirt. Her sneakers were white
with a blue trim. She looked like a “Mom.”
It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the tops
of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time
to flow down the spout. Drains in the nearby parking lot were filled
to capacity and some were blocked so that huge puddles laked around
parked cars. We all stood there under the awning, and just inside the
door of the Wal-Mart. We waited, some patiently, others irritated because
nature messed up their hurried day. I am always mesmerized by rainfall.
I get lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt
and dust of the world. Memories of running, splashing so carefree as
a child come pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my
day.
Her voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all
caught in.
“Mom, let’s run through the rain,” she said.
“What?” Mom asked.
“Let’s run through the rain!” she repeated.
“No, honey. We’ll wait until it slows down a bit,”
Mom replied.
This young child waited about another minute and repeated her statement.
“Mom. Let’s run through the rain.”
“We’ll get soaked if we do,” Mom said.
“No, we won’t, Mom. That’s not what you said this
morning,” the young girl said as she tugged at her mom’s
arm.
“This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and
not get wet?”
“Don’t you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about
his cancer, you said, ‘If God can get us through this, He can get
us through anything!’”
The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn’t hear
anything but the rain. We all stood silently. No one came or left in
the next few minutes.
Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say.
Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might
even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a
young child’s life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured
so that it will bloom into faith.
“Honey, you are absolutely right. Let’s run through the
rain. If God lets us get wet, well maybe we just needed washing,”
Mom said.
Then off they ran.
We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the
cars and yes, through the puddles. They held their shopping bags over
their heads just in case. They got soaked. But they were followed by
a few believers who screamed and laughed like children all the way to
their cars… perhaps inspired by their faith and trust.
I want to believe that somewhere down the road in life, Mom will find
herself reflecting back on moments they spent together, captured like
pictures in the scrapbook of her cherished memories. Maybe when she
watches proudly as her daughter graduates… or as her Daddy walks
her down the aisle on her wedding day. She will laugh again. Her heart
will beat a little faster. Her smile will tell the world they love each
other, but only two people will share that precious moment when they
ran through the rain believing that God would get them through.
And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing.