My eleven-year-old daughter, Charlotte, keeps a careful watch of the sky. With any hint of clouds or darkness, she asks over and over again, “Is it supposed to storm today?”
She’s no stranger to what the sky will unleash upon us, sometimes with very little warning. We've spent plenty of nights waiting out tornado watches, glued to the weather updates. The camping nights, when a thunderstorm hits and rain patters on the camper's metal roof. The picnic with friends, scrambling for cover, grabbing chairs and food. And in the storms' aftermath, we gather to pick up sticks and debris from wind littered across our yard.
When my daughter asks if it’s going to storm, I picture her replaying all these memories.
Yet, not all clouds and darkness bring torrential downpours and golfball hail.
Somedays after a rainshower, Charlotte will run outside in search of a rainbow when a burst of sunlight breaks through the clouds. Other days, her face tipped to the sky, she’ll stomp and jump in puddles, soaked, and full of smiles.
There’s so much the sky wants to tell us.
At baseball and softball games I think the pinks and blues of the sunset want us to remember that we’re all on the same team. That we’re better together when we show up and cheer for one anothers’ kids regardless of team and ability. These nights on the ball field are just seasons that will come and go, and for now are to be treasured.
The day we put our dog Lars down, I look to the sky to help remind us that we’re never alone in our grief. That the world continually invites opportunities to say goodbye to loved ones and holds us under the cover of its wings.
As we rise with the early morning light we know that the sun will rise again, a new day dawning.
On the shore of the lake at our campsite, I lie in the hammock and watch my family and friends play in the water. The sky begs us to look up and see the gifts before us. The sky delights in the moments where it feels like time stands still.
The sky beckons us all to see the vast expanse above us and know that we’re covered.
Maybe that’s all I need to remember, too. That the sky is so immense and so is the love of God that knits each of us together but also formed the heavens and the seas and placed every star above us.
A Blessing for Rainbows
Excerpt from Small Steps: Blessings to Lift Your Soul on the Pilgrimage of Life
When the rains have passed
the shock of thunder long gone
and the threat of storms fade,
take a moment to breathe in
the lingering scent of rain.
Grab your sweatshirt
and walk outside
through puddles
see the dark clouds interspersed with light
look up and take in the beauty
red, orange, and yellow streaking the sky
catch a glimpse of green, indigo and violet
be stunned by the long arch soaring through the sky.
Shout to your friends: rainbow alert.
May you never tire of going out in the rain
to look for color and light
searching for beauty
amidst life’s storms.
This post is part of a blog hop with Exhale—an online community of women pursuing creativity alongside motherhood, led by the writing team behind Coffee + Crumbs. Click here to view the next post in the series "Sky."
"The sky beckons us all to see the vast expanse above us and know that we’re covered." One of my favorite lines
Beautiful post. Love that pic at the ball field!