The Rain

Out of nowhere, the heavens open and the water pours down! Passing an eighteen wheeler becomes a moment of faith, between the water falling down and that which the truck is stirring up, we find ourselves in the middle of a windy, swirling opaque monster threatening to swallow us whole. Unable to see the road, Dawn says, "Good thing we aren't on the bike today."

On the way to Jackie's college, we went through several pockets of rain. Only a couple of them were heavy and all of them were relatively brief. We passed a couple dozen bikes heading northbound, all of them were wearing their rain gear and they seemed just fine. We might as well get used to the idea that we are going to get wet on our Great Adventure.

The reality is that anyone who rides will eventually get wet. When you think about it, that is just a reflection of life. Sometimes it's sunny and sometimes it's not; sometimes it's warm and sometimes it's not; sometimes it's rainy and sometimes it's not.

Dawn and I have experienced the gamut of "weather" in our married life and are so grateful that, through the grace of God, we had both the level of commitment and the strength to honor each other, our marriage, and our Lord. We are at an interesting place in our lives together, somewhere in the middle of our adult life [or so we hope, Lord willing]. We can look back and appreciate all the tremendous blessings, be thankful for the times we stood by each other (even when we didn't feel like it), and view the storms we have been through from a totally different perspective.

We hear from so many couples that have weathered the storms of life that say they are better because of it. Well, we too can attest to that. Through honoring each other, even in the tough times, character and trust has been forged into our marriage. Strength and deep love are the outcome. We have viewed each other as best friends for a very long time and have realized that even as best friends we have minor, and sometimes even major disputes but that doesn't change the respect we have for one another, just how much we actually say at that given time.

So standing in the middle of our adult life together, we have the great blessing of looking forward. We know that sometimes we will find ourselves in the middle of the swirling veils of mist during the downpours of life, but we also know the roadway we are on will remain true and will continue to be solid and trustworthy. In those moments we will simply slow down so we can see enough roadway directly ahead of us, knowing that the destination doesn't have to be is sight at all times to know we are on the right path. And ohhh, when the rain clears there is sa-wwweeeet warm sunshine waiting on the other side!

Trust and honor one another... ride on - it's sa-wwweeeet!