It was drizzling outside when I got to the gym one morning last week.
I walked in and as usual, the staff met me with genuine smiles. It’s so refreshing to see people really happy at work.
While checking me in, one of the women asked me how my morning was going. I get super awkward with small talk. It isn’t that I don’t like it - I actually love connecting with people in small ways like that, it’s just that I never know what to say and before I can consciously decide my mouth spits out something about the weather. C’mon Robyn, the weather again? I know, I even drive myself crazy!
Thus, in response to her question about how my morning was going, I replied with some stupid comment about the rain.
And then, this seemingly unimportant encounter with a stranger took a very important turn.
Smiling, she told me how she loved the rain! Having lived in Seattle for a bit, I can carry on a conversation about rain for a bit, but I never saw this coming.
She said she found it interesting that here (in the US), people really don’t like the rain. But in Iran, where she comes from, Rain is considered a blessing. They welcome rain with joy! They are aware to the fact that rain is vital. We cannot exist without it. So they are grateful when it comes!
Rain is a blessing!
I don’t necessarily hate the rain, but wow. How remarkably different would my life be if I thought of rain as a blessing rather than a curse!
Where I live in St Louis, it rains an average of 112 days per year. That is 30% of the year!
There were 112 days last year alone that I could have started my day with a smile of gratitude, instead of a grimace of annoyance…112 days that I missed the opportunity to express my gratitude for the water falling from the sky to replenish all living things!
I have somehow become so complacent that I just assume the rain will always come, and ideally on the days of my choice. But we are not owed the rain - we probably don’t even deserve the rain - rain is a gift!
Rain is a blessing!
I encourage us all to carry this forward as a reminder to choose more gratitude. And next time it rains, consider it a gift and see how it changes your mind!