Moments to warm your heart
One recent Monday morning, while walking in a light rainstorm, I quickly identified the wildly swinging, long blonde ponytail flashing through misty showers as belonging to my neighbor, an energetic young wife, and mom of five. She was flying along with her handsome husband who was pedaling furiously alongside on one of their kids’ small bicycles. They were reveling in the periods of sun, cloud, and rain that added new experiences at every turn. Most times, she had her children along, the family dog once, too. When she and the girls ran, swinging their ponytails, they reminded me of young thoroughbred ponies cantering by.
We often shared a few words in passing. It didn’t surprise me to see her outdoors, happily battling the elements, as well as the stream of bad news about the nation’s developing health emergency. Her upbeat attitude likely had a lot to do with a favorite passage from the Bible she had once shared with me.
“We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope…” (Romans 5, v 3-5)
“Hi, Miss Patti!!” she called out cheerily as I emerged from the mist, looking, I was sure, slightly worse for wear in my dampened red jacket; my head tucked down in my collar as I wondered what on earth the world was coming to, or headed for, in light of the ever-troubling onslaught of national headlines.
“Oh, Katie!” I called to her, nodding approvingly at her choice of an unexpected companion. “Have you recruited him too? “Beaming, her husband looked as though he was celebrating a surprise birthday that included a gift of a wonderfully carefree time away from his work-at-home, travel-restricted job.
“It’s FUN!!” he laughed. Their youngsters were busy working online at Monday morning school, but for this pair of escapees, Monday presented a great adventure. During a few precious and stolen showery moments, they were rediscovering romantic togetherness in a shared, exhilarated dash down the lane, creating their own brand of sunshine as they got wet and splashed through puddles. I hoped they would stay and play in the rain a little longer.
Their happiness rubbed off on me. I was glad I had headed outdoors to escape too—fleeing dire media warnings that had scared us all indoors for too long. My overworked imagination took a back seat. Replacing it was a sense of renewed peace and optimism. Walking toward my home, I felt that although the great big, outer world might be careening toward an uncertain destination, my soul knew where the ultimate truths lay. God would take care of us if we remembered to keep him close, trusting.
Certainly, that very morning, in a living room not far from my own, one young family’s happily-ever-after was unfolding beautifully. I had been privileged to share a little of their infectious spirit of hope. Hope. Now, that was really something newsworthy that I could believe in: real, and good. Indeed, to my mind, hope deserved the headline of the day!
Patti Jones Morgan