They Ran Through The Rain Believing
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]She had been shopping with her Mom in Wal-Mart. She must have been 6 years [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]old, this beautiful brown-haired, freckle-faced image of innocence.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the tops of rain [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the Earth that it had no time to flow down [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]the spout. Drains in the nearby parking lot were filled to capacity and some were [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]blocked so that huge puddles laced around parked cars.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the Wal-Mart. We [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]waited, some patiently, others irritated...because nature messed up [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]their hurried day.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I get lost in the sound and sight of the [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running, [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]splashing so carefree as a child come pouring in as a welcome reprieve from [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]the worries of my day.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]Her voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]"Mom, let's run through the rain," she said.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]"What?" Mom asked![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]"Let's run through the rain!" she repeated.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]"No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit," Mom replied.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]This young child waited about another minute and repeated, "Mom, let's run [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]through the rain."[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]"We'll get soaked if we do," Mom said.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]"No, we won't, Mom, that's not what you [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]said this morning," the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom's arm.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]"This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?"[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]"Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]said, If God can get us through this, He can get us through anything!"[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn't hear anything but the [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]rain. We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few minutes. Her Mom [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]paused and thought for a moment about what she would say.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]"Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If God let's us get [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]wet, well maybe we just needed washing."[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]the cars and yes through the puddles. They held their shopping bags over their [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]heads just in case. They got soaked. But they were followed by a few who [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]I want to believe that somewhere down the road in life, Mom will find herself [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]reflecting back on moments they spent together, captured like pictures in the [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]scrapbook of her cherished memories. Maybe when she watches proudly as her [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]daughter graduates, or as her daddy walks her down the aisle on her wedding [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]day.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]She will laugh again. Her heart will beat a little faster. Her smile will tell the world [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]they love each other. But only they... will share that precious moment, when [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]they ran through the rain believing that God would get them through.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]And Yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]take away your money, they can take away your health. But no one can ever [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]take away your precious memories.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]So, don't forget to make time and take the opportunities...to make memories [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]every day![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]Bob Perks[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]She had been shopping with her Mom in Wal-Mart. She must have been 6 years [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]old, this beautiful brown-haired, freckle-faced image of innocence.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the tops of rain [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the Earth that it had no time to flow down [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]the spout. Drains in the nearby parking lot were filled to capacity and some were [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]blocked so that huge puddles laced around parked cars.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the Wal-Mart. We [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]waited, some patiently, others irritated...because nature messed up [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]their hurried day.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I get lost in the sound and sight of the [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running, [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]splashing so carefree as a child come pouring in as a welcome reprieve from [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]the worries of my day.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]Her voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]"Mom, let's run through the rain," she said.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]"What?" Mom asked![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]"Let's run through the rain!" she repeated.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]"No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit," Mom replied.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]This young child waited about another minute and repeated, "Mom, let's run [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]through the rain."[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]"We'll get soaked if we do," Mom said.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]"No, we won't, Mom, that's not what you [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]said this morning," the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom's arm.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]"This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?"[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]"Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]said, If God can get us through this, He can get us through anything!"[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn't hear anything but the [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]rain. We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few minutes. Her Mom [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]paused and thought for a moment about what she would say.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]"Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If God let's us get [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]wet, well maybe we just needed washing."[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]the cars and yes through the puddles. They held their shopping bags over their [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]heads just in case. They got soaked. But they were followed by a few who [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]I want to believe that somewhere down the road in life, Mom will find herself [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]reflecting back on moments they spent together, captured like pictures in the [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]scrapbook of her cherished memories. Maybe when she watches proudly as her [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]daughter graduates, or as her daddy walks her down the aisle on her wedding [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]day.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]She will laugh again. Her heart will beat a little faster. Her smile will tell the world [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]they love each other. But only they... will share that precious moment, when [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]they ran through the rain believing that God would get them through.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]And Yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]take away your money, they can take away your health. But no one can ever [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]take away your precious memories.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]So, don't forget to make time and take the opportunities...to make memories [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]every day![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]Bob Perks[/FONT]