when it rains, it pours

Monsoon season in the desert. It's an interesting phenomenon. If you don't pay attention to the clouds building over the Sandias, late afternoon storms will sneak up on you... rain sweeps across the valley, leaving half-flooded streets and soaked cyclists seeking shelter from lightning in its wake.

One of those late afternoon storms sneaked up on me yesterday afternoon, as I was writing this post. The thunder was loud, and the lightning spectacular - and nearby - so I shut down the laptop, and sat and watched the rain falling on the pool. And never got back to finishing this post.

I'd say this was coincidental, but since I don't believe in coincidence whatsoever, I can't. When the monsoon rain hit yesterday afternoon, I was actually writing about storms - geared more toward the "storms" we encounter in life - but storms, nonetheless. I've been listening to a mixed up bunch of music for the past few days that has included several songs by Train - among them, the song "When I Look to the Sky." If you're unfamiliar, it starts with the following:

"When it rains, it pours,

and opens doors that flood the floors

we thought would always keep us safe and dry -

and in the midst of sailing ships, 

we sink our lips into the ones we love that have to say goodbye -

and as I float along this ocean, 

I can feel you like an ocean that won't seem to let me go -

'Cause when I look to the sky, 

something tells me you're here with me,

and you make everything alright

When I feel like I'm lost, 

something tells me you're here with me,

And I can always find my way when you are here."

Storms push our limits, and sometimes they push us off our path. Whether it's navigating home through flooded streets, seeking shelter from a lightning storm, saving the blog post in progress and not getting back to it, having the clothes dryer die on Sunday morning, or whatever else... we get distracted, we get frustrated, we start to bend, or maybe feel like we're going to break.

Sometimes we don't "look to the sky" - we forget that even when everything around us is flooding, even the places or relationships we never thought would flood, we aren't lost. We can still find our way. I know the songwriter didn't intend for the "you" in this song to be God, but taking that perspective on the words definitely works - God is like that ocean that won't let us go, who always guides us on our way. He may not "make everything alright" in the sense that he may not change a situation the way we want him to - but he will always give us what we need to get through - really, to grow through... just like plants thirsty for water grow after the rains come.

It does seem like, more often than not, when it rains, it really does pour - whether during monsoon season or in the seasons of life. And it's hard to keep perspective when you feel like your very roots may get washed out from underneath you, but it's more than worth the effort to hang on through the storm. I know it's cliche, but it's also true: sometimes we have to learn to dance in the rain - and for New Mexicans, we either learn to dance in the rain, or we drown in the arroyo. ;-)

+Peace and good, and thank God for the rain!