Excerpt from "Reflections of a Trappist Hermit" by Matthew Kelty There is some special delight in simply walking into a stream, stepping into a lake. The child's delight in a puddle is my adult's in a sea... No rain falls that I do not at once hear in the sound of the falling water an invitation to come to the wedding. It is rare that I do not answer. A walk in the evening rain in any setting is to walk in the midst of God's loving attention to his earth, and, like a baptism, is no simple washing, but a communication of life. When you hurry in out of the rain, I hurry out into it, for it is a sign that all is well, that God loves, that good is to follow. If suffering a doubt, I find myself looking to rain as a good omen. And in rain, I always hear singing, wordless chant rising and falling. A delight wells up inside me when I listen to my heart and go out into the rain. Often I find myself walking, then running, through it. And why not? It's a chance for me to remember how to be foolish. No matter who you are, there's nothing dignified about splashing in puddles, laughing as water pours off your face or being covered in mud up the knees! There's a lightness of spirit that comes with delighting in the simple things. Matthew Kelty's words reminded me of a period of my life when I saw rain as an excuse to play, rather than sit inside. For a long time, I didn't understand how to play. It wasn't practical - and besides, what's the point of playing without friends? But a group of people taught me how to play. How to laugh. And what a delight it became to be alive! Sunny days called me outside to bike and toss a frisbee; snow brought skiing and sledding and dancing in the streets with our tongues out to catch the first few flakes of the season; rain brought mud puddles and flooded creeks and thunderstorms! For a while, I thought I'd never be able to sit inside again and not be restless. But recently, I'd somehow forgotten all of the delight the weather could bring. Just this morning, as I read these words, I realized there's so much of life to recover. To be reminded of. For our God is good and His reminders always come in perfect timing. So delight in the rain. Delight in the sound of its laughter. In the sorrow we sometimes hear. Delight in it's invitation, as we remember the hope of heaven that Christ gave us.
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