Rainy Ride

So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the LORD your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul- then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and oil. I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied. Deuteronomy 11:13-15 (NIV)

On Saturday, the weatherman said there was fifty percent chance of rain. That news gave me an “uh oh” in the pit of my stomach because the motorcycle ministry my husband is a part of had planned a benefit ride for a local children’s home. Though the summer weather pattern here is clear mornings and rainstorms in the afternoon, when we left the house at 8:00, clouds were already building in the west. We felt just a spit of rain as we traveled to the church, but it got heavier while the group gathered. The sun came back out while we rode to the registration point, and we grew optimistic. As our group swelled to about a hundred bikes, we took off for an hour and a half ride through the countryside with our final destination a BBQ at the children’s home. Had we gone directly to the BBQ, we probably would not have gotten wet, but as we rode, the skies turned black and storms rolled in. From where I sat on the back of the bike, I stayed pretty dry as my husband blocked some of the rain. At one point, he hollered back to me, “Where exactly are we going?”, and I pointed to a particularly ominous looking cloud and replied, “Right underneath that one.” Turns out I was right. It was thundering and lightening when we rolled onto the gravel drive at the children’s home. Everyone scattered towards the tents and a large barn where the food was being served. It rained hard the rest of the day, and all the activities were moved inside. We helped to serve the food then, visited with everyone as we waited to see if the rain would ease off some. They held a raffle and I bought five tickets even though I never win anything. The lure of a $50 gift certificate to a landscape supply company was more than I could stand. When they began the raffle, I said to a friend, “I’m sure I just wasted $5.00.” A woman standing next to me said, “You didn’t waste it. You gave it to help the children.” Ahh. The glass half empty or half full routine. I am the first one to see the glass half empty, but was recently reminded by a wise counselor that a positive outlook is better than a negative one. So, I have been trying to see some of the difficult situations in my life with a view toward what is good about them more than what is bad. It’s that fifty percent chance of rain forecast all over again. When the weatherman says that, he doesn’t mean it will rain fifty percent of my day only that sometime during the day I have fifty percent chance of getting wet. It rained hard all the way home, but after all, it was for the children. My heart was warm and cozy even if my body was soaked through.