Bring on the Rain

I love the rain: The soothing plip plop pitter patter, the fresh smell of soil it uncovers
and the cozy feeling it evokes when cuddled soundly in the house.  Unfortunately it also brings in the mud.  Last summer we had our foundation wrapped/sealed and we ended up with a dug up front yard full of unseeded mud.  We even had to take out the porch, leaving the front door 6 feet off the ground.  Our normally unused side door has become the awkward main entrance and the walkway a giant pudding bowl of mud.  Just imagine me carrying a baby carrier in one hand, a cup of coffee in the other, my purse over my shoulder with a two year old trailing on my heels, opening the door to a very excited dog bursting her way outside.  Coffee goes on the table, the carrier's placed gently on the floor and I ask my two year old to try and take off his boots while I go back outside to grab the groceries from the trunk.  Between the little boy stomp prints, my own rubber boot imprints and the very widespread paw parade, by the time all is said and done, there is mud in just about every room in my house.

I can't help but see this as a life metaphor.  How quickly can our lives turn chaotic by opening a door expecting to "get out of the rain" but end up finding ourselves up to our knees in mud. My pregnancy was full of hospitalizations and nerve wrenching test results.  I thought that once Gideon was born I would be in the clear.  Now I find myself in the depths of the muck as we go through doctor appointments, hospitalizations and surgeries; facing the worst- our unknowns.

I think that when in this position, what we do with the mud is important.  If I tried to clean up all that mud as soon as I got in the door, it would smear everywhere and just make matters worse.  I find that if I just sit back, drink my coffee and let it dry, I can easily sweep it up and mop up the remaining dust with ease.  In my current situation with Gideon, I need to learn to sit back a little and just try to enjoy my time with the beautiful little boy that has been given to me.  Sometimes I seem to get stuck in the muddy mess of life's chaos, rushing here and there, I forget what's really important to me.  So I say bring on the rain.  Help me to remember to enjoy the simple things in life and to wash away all the non-priorities that bog me down.