Just Walking in the Rain

I walk with three other women at 6 a.m. every morning except Sunday. There are very few things that will keep us from our morning sojourn. Though we look for an out whenever possible, we walk because we know it is good for us and for the camaraderie we share in the wee hours of each day. Visitors don't stop us. They are welcome to join us, but we are usually out and back before the rest of the house is awake.

We don't walk if there is ice on the streets or if the temperature is less than 16 degrees. Remember we live in the Hill Country of Texas so you would not think ice and low temps would be factors, but they are occasionally deterrents in the winter. Faced with cold weather, we just layer several pair of pants and shirts and walk faster. The lower limit was set when we discovered it was 16 degrees out AFTER we had walked. If we can do it one time, we can do it every time.

We don't set an upper limit on heat and humidity but we get out early before they are too bad. Ladies don't "sweat", they "glisten" or "bead." Some mornings we do a lot of glistening. At least it is not like Houston where you can barely catch your breath as the heat & humidity hit you in the face when you open the front door.

Today was one of those iffy days. One or all of us checks the weather report and the radar before we meet under the light at the street corner. Today it showed showers approaching, but we were hoping to make it home before we had rain. Yes, we knew a hurricane was approaching and we usually get rain from that, but we could see the stars of Texas overhead.
"It threatened yesterday and nothing materialized," reminded one of our group.
We walked.

We have a couple of different routes we follow, both about 2.5 miles. We were within 1/2 mile of home when the skies opened. We got wet so fast that there was no reason to hurry, so we walked at our usual brisk pace, actually enjoying the adventure.

I remember taking off my shoes and wading in the gutters and puddles when I was a child. Sometimes, I would convince my mother that a little rain was good for me. Sometimes, I would just run out and enjoy the rainfall until I was caught and ordered inside the house. Always, I associate walking in the rain with the pure and simple joy of living. When you are caught without an umbrella, but it doesn't matter if you get wet, there's a sensual pleasure and delight in God's goodness. A baptism by our Lord's own hand.....an extra measure of grace to face the day....