I am wanting to share a joy I have experienced today.

I fell asleep early last night, and slept very soundly. I woke up without an alarm around 4:30, and remembered this crazy idea I had last night that maybe I could run first thing in the morning.

I have NEVER been a morning runner. I can barely talk or walk straight until I sit for a few minutes with a cup of coffee… but the spirit moved me, so I got up and dressed lightly for a summer morning run.

When I stepped outside, I could feel the rain moving in - and saw lightning off in the distance, but it felt more like a dream than reality, so off I went.

Today’s run felt quite like the past ten months of my life.

Started out normal… but the wind moved in quickly. In an instant, the warmth of my bed and the safety of my home were behind me, and the unknown stretched out before me. The rain, like sorrow, poored down from above - but I knew I had to keep going. I knew my destination was to come back home… so I chose to enjoy the journey and take it all in.

The bursts of lightning illuminated the night sky, revealing large dark clouds that I did not know were there. But this storm did not come for me. I was in it… but not its target. Indeed, I could feel the fields of tall grass soaking up the rain, and see the flowers twisting and turning in the wind… no more ready to give up than I.

There were periods that the rain fell so sharply that I had to close my eyes. Running with my eyes closed in the twighlight of this strange transition from sleep to wakefulness… I had to trust that I was on the right path, and sense the ground beneath my feet.

Never for a moment did I tense up or feel ill at ease. In fact, I almost lost myself completely in the thick morning air. The rain drenched my exterior as I prayed for it to wash away the pain inside. Take the poison from my blood, I begged with an open heart.

I marveled at the beauty and complexity of the human form as the water hit every inch of my body, yet I breathed in deeply as I ran, knowing the oxygen was flowing to my muscles and skin. Feeling no desire to slow down or speed up, I just ran and ran until eventually my path brought me to my street. The place where my friends and neighbors live. The place where I have built my home.

This journey has its risks… we do not control what happens in the world around us… but we always have the freedom to choose how and who we are in this world. Even in the rain of sorrow, we can learn from life and find joy in the moments.

I feel blessed by this experience, and grateful that I have yet another shot to make this life what I want it to be.

Out of the mindlessness of sleep comes the wanting to be awake. From the soaking cold rain of sorrow comes a deep desire for sunny days. There is no right or wrong as we travel through the storms of life, but there is beauty all around us.