3 down, 7 to go

It finally rained today.  The hot days have been coming in and out and it seemed no break was in sight.  This summer has been very intense and the little signs of rain finally came through.  The lagalaga (insects that come out before it rains, typical of our part of the world), rumbling thunder in the distance.  The air has gotten cooler and everyone is less on edge and gotten mellow.

I have always loved the rain.  But lately my days have gotten so hectic that I've begun to think the way others have, seeing it as hindrance to my schedule.  But now that I am literally forced to keep still in one place, I see something I once loved.  How everything is covered in a cozy cloudy blanket, the beating of the rain overhead, how everything becomes more quiet and you can hear things from a distance.

Last week when I was back home for a while, I could feel my heart ache a little bit as I drove around.  Seeing the familiar sights I used to see in bright orange from the sunset, kids running and playing in the beach.  The roads are not as congested as Iloilo so the little tricycles here in there just adds to the feeling of being home.

Now with the rain, it brings me back to the days when I used to just look out of my window and see the rain just falling outside.  How the bamboo leaves would sway and the smell of wet grass.  I would do that for hours on end.  With a book in some times.  Life was simpler.

No matter how bad I felt, I always felt a sense of comfort whenever it rained.  It just calmed me and my fears.  Even in my dreams, the ones that are the most vivid, it seems to be raining or cloudy.  Now I don't know about other people's dreams, but that just seems to be the ongoing theme in mine.

So for my third day,  I choose to see it as a blessing and a gift.  I rarely have these moments and I just realized I don't want to be part of the rushing blur.  I want to savor each moment.  I want Dani to be the same way.  To see beauty in the simple things.  Drops of rain.  The gentle rumble of thunder. The quiet but stunning sunsets.  BIrds flying back home at the end of a long hot day. Dew on grass in the mornings.  Full moons at night.

It surprises me how some people just live right through it.  Everything is so photoshopped and altered.  I like to remember things as they really are.  Most importantly, I want to remember the feeling of that moment.  It may not resonate with other people, but I like recalling how it moved me in some way.  Call me sentimental.  Call me dramatic.  But I refuse to live a life numb and not seeing how beautiful my God is.  He is much too good for that and He has been overlooked too many times.

Thank you, Lord for this day.  For this time of reflection, quiet and stillness.