Rain

Okay, well, I'm realizing that I must seem like such an obnoxious mom...constantly talking about how cute my daughter is. Since the couple of readers I have on here actually know Jacklyn, I shouldn't feel the need to apologize. However, I am sorry. I don't want to be one of "those" kind of moms!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I wanted to write that post I mentioned a while ago on rain. I heard something great that made so much sense to me that I wanted to share it on here. A friend of mine and I were talking about how so often circumstances can change our mood (or our week, day, etc.) It can be someone else's response to us, it can be our finances, our job, our weight, our appearance, etc. Outside things can affect us negatively.
We talked about rain and had 3 different scenarios:
If you were inside your house, safe and sound....snuggled up under a blanket, reading a good book and it started raining outside....how much would it affect you? For me, the answer was not much.
Now, imagine you are planning a beautiful, outdoor wedding. On the day of the event, huge rain clouds fill the sky and dump down on you just as you are getting ready to say your vows. I think it's safe to assume that in that instance, rain ruined your day and you wouldn't be able to quickly get over it.
Lastly, you are a farmer. Your sole source of income is from your crops and there has been a terrible drought for the past year. Finally, the rain begins to pour from the heavens and you are given a renewed sense of hope. Rain has saved your livelihood and there is no greater joy in all the world.
In each one of these instances, RAIN was the factor. Rain, in and of itself, is neither good nor bad. It has everything to do with how we perceive it. Quite often our own outside circumstances are the same way. We can choose to either let them ruin our lives (or at least our day) OR we can find the good in them. At the very least, we can just watch the circumstances come and go and not get overly concerned about them.
Personally, I want to find joy in all things. I have a long, long, LONG way to go here...but, it is a goal of mine. I want to look for the blessing instead of constantly stressing out, worrying and being fearful when things don't turn out as I had planned.
This past weekend, I feel like I've learned some things about myself that are not the best. I want to be in control, I can be very competitive, very distrusting, insecure and self-protective. Bleck! I see it all and really want to change. I guess for me, the best thing I can do for now is continue practicing living in the moment. I want to stop fearing the future (which I can't control anyway) and just let that rain roll right off of me. For goodness sake, I may even start looking for rainbows! :)
I'm not sure you followed this or that I was able to put it into writing as I heard it...but, if so, I hope it's helpful.