A Promise of New Life

It has been raining here in Shenandoah. A lot. The sky appears to have decided it must dump water upon us at every turn. That has made life a bit interesting this last week, especially as I was making several trips to and from the park in order to be in DC for both of Alison's graduation ceremonies this past weekend. It has also come to serve as a powerful picture of the glory of the promise of new life. Each time it rains, as the clouds dissipate, the sun shines forth all the clearer and the land is filled with the promise of life.  It makes me think about the way I look at life. All too often I see the negative side of the "rain"; the inconvenience of having to run through the rain and getting wet, not being able to go hiking as planned, being stuck inside when I would rather be outside, nearly having Alison's graduation ceremony on the mall rained out, having to drive much slower on Skyline Drive due to the rain and fog.  

Thankfully my thinking does not stop there, for those are but a few small areas affected by the rain. This same rain is what has made the waterfalls so glorious. This same rain is what has caused thousands of beautiful wildflowers to spring up all around the park. This same rain is what creates absolutely spectacular depth in the clouds in the sky as it begins to clear. this same rain and the storms that come with it is what held Alison and I captivated as we sat in my truck simply taking in the sheer power of the storm swirling around us. This same rain represents the very force of life itself. 

These last two weeks have been quite busy for me, but they have also been filled with the celebration of new life.  Last Friday my Fiance walked across the stage and received her masters degree. Two days later she joined her fellow graduates in a celebration on the National Mall. Despite having to work the day in between and make several trips back and forth to the park, I was able to attend both ceremonies. It was more than a celebration of accomplishment (though it certainly was that!), it was a celebration of new life and new beginnings.  Tomorrow I go back to DC again, just in time to catch an early morning flight on Saturday to attend the wedding of a dear friend in Kansas City. It too is a celebration of new life as two become one.  

Two days ago four new seasonal interpretive rangers arrived. I have already discovered commonality with two of them, one who worked at Fredericksburg and another who worked at the Statue of Liberty and Petersburg. The latter has both a BA and MA in American history and appears to hold many similar interests to my own. While I could be jealous that these rangers are getting paid significantly more than I am and getting to do many of the programs that I would love to do, I would rather give thanksgiving for the fact that I get to be here at all and also that I have new friends, people while whom I can share both stories and experiences.  

This afternoon I looked out the window and saw a newborn fawn struggling to walk behind its mother. It too was a picture of new life and the promise of change that comes with spring.  So perhaps the rain in life is more than something that gets us wet and makes our lives more inconvenient. Perhaps there is more to the rain than first meets the eye. Perhaps there is more to our lives than we often see. Perhaps new life and the promise of the same is rising around us all the time if we take the time to see it.