Lessons from a flower…

“In all that great desert, there was not a single green thing growing, neither tree nor flower nor plant save here and there a patch of straggly gray cacti.

On the last morning [Much-Afraid] was walking near the tents and huts of the desert dwellers, when in a lonely corner behind a wall she came upon a little golden-yellow flower, growing all alone. An old pipe was connected with a water tank. In the pipe was one tiny hole through which came an occasional drop of water. Where the drops fell one by one, there grew the little golden flower, though where the seed had come from, Much-Afraid could not imagine, for there were no birds anywhere and no other growing things.

She stooped over the lonely, lovely little golden face, lifted up so hopefully and so bravely to the feeble drip, and cried out softly, ‘What is your name, little flower, for I never saw one like you before.’

The tiny plant answered at once in a tone as golden as itself, ‘Behold me! My name is Acceptance-with-Joy!’

Much-Afraid thought of the things which she had seen… Somehow the answer of the little golden flower which grew all alone in the waste of the desert stole into her heart and echoed there faintly and sweetly, filling her with comfort. She said to herself, ‘He [the Shepherd] has brought me here when I did not want to come, for His own purpose. I, too, will look up into His face and say, “Behold me! I am your little handmaiden, Acceptance-with-Joy.”‘”

-Hinds Feet on High Places, by Hannah Hurnard

A reminder to my readers: grow where you are planted. (:

Running in the rain (:

I did something new today: I went for a run in the pouring rain. Without a coat. And barefoot (well, technically, I was wearing my xero shoes, but that’s close enough). Seriously though, it was the most wonderful sensation…never mind the fact that I was soaked to the skin within minutes, never mind that it was 50 degrees outside (a bit chilly by my Californian standards), never mind that I might have gotten a few weird looks whilst jogging along…it was so worth it. Something about watching the world get nourished and washed clean and simultaneously letting my own soul get renewed through the downpour was just short of magical. And oh, to taste and smell and feel and listen to the music of the storm was simply beautiful… Not to mention that I got to splash through as many puddles as I wanted and still pretend that I, Serena Mora, was a mature, responsible, no-nonsense grown-up.

Yeah, it was picture-perfect. Minus the very soggy-looking Serena that was present in the aforementioned picture. But whatever. Soggy Serena still enjoyed herself ever so very muchly. Oh, and bonus points because she totally got to feel like she was a hard-core Seattlite for running in the rain. Something like that.

In sum, if you find yourself with a drizzly day, my best prescription for enjoying it is to go running or skipping or dancing through it. Or just splashing in puddles whilst still pretending to be a grown-up. That works too. (;

Oh yeah, and P.S.:

 

I kind of love the rain.