Karla’s Korner: Dancing Through the Storm

Dancing Through the Storm…..

Growing up on a farm provided me with a lot of life lessons. I may look like a “city girl” now, but I still have country roots that keep me grounded in those lessons learned. While the main element of our small farm was poultry there were plenty of other animals to take care of. One of my favorite times of the year was when the momma hogs would deliver their piglets; lots and lots of piglets. We also had cows (one for milk) and goats. The goats were at best ornery and difficult but necessary as they kept the fence rows clear of brush and weeds. Having their fill of grass and weeds to eat it seemed that the goats were never quite satisfied with where they were. They always wanted to be on the other side of the fence; I assume they thought the grass was greener or better on the other side. Keeping them contained and content was difficult.

This past week in the middle of my morning routine our 13 year old cat Lucky “beckoned” me with his persistent whining wanting to go outside; little did he know it was pouring rain and quite cold out. As I opened the door he took one step out and quickly retreated back inside and darted to the sunroom door on the other side of the house again whining to go outside. Realizing it was raining out that door too he headed to the front door as I dutifully followed behind. Success! He didn’t go far but at least he went out and I could continue on with my morning. He had finally achieved the results he wanted; no rain. Shutting the door behind him I shook my head, uttered “crazy cat” and went back to preparing for work. As silly as I thought he was, that cat made me realize that we live our lives pretty much the same way.

Quite often like my cat we find ourselves going from one door to the other in hopes of finding different results or in his case avoiding the rain. How often do we head for another door or turn and go in a different direction because we don’t want to deal with unpleasantness? How often do we excuse ourselves from situations that we consider difficult instead of staying and putting in the work to get through it? It seems that we put more energy and focus into avoiding the rain storms of life rather than putting on our rain boots and slopping through the puddles to get to the other side of the storm. A friend once shared with me that it’s important to enjoy the journey because we learn things along the way; of course he was talking about going on vacation but I think it’s also important to observe and enjoy each step of our life journey along the way.

Several years ago my daughter and I were in a particularly silly mood and decided to run out into the backyard during a rain storm. As we stood there with the rain splattering our upward looking faces we began to laugh, that deep belly laugh that nearly knocks you off your feet. My husband thought we were ridiculous and encouraged us to come in out of the rain; we didn’t budge we just stood there getting wet and laughing out loud. “Sometimes Dad”, she said “you just gotta let the rain make you happy”. And so we did just that and we made a memory that we will never forget. This week as we commemorated the loss of our baby 19 years ago I found myself sitting alone on the deck stairs listening to a cardinal sing to me. I believe that cardinal is a sign from Heaven a message of encouragement to keep enjoying life and appreciate the journey. Our hearts grow bigger with struggle I think allowing us to appreciate the sunshiny days.

Author Vivian Greene once said “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” I encourage you to step off the porch into the rain storms that come along in your life, because just like a summer storm that drenches the earth and fades away often leaving a rainbow behind your life storms will fade away as well leaving lessons learned. Life is not easy; it’s not supposed to be. Life is a journey filled with storms, sunshine, clouds and sometimes darkness. Put on your mud boots, grab your raincoat and dance through the puddles after all the journey is by far better than the destination.

Peace,
Karla

I think we all need a touch point a place we can go to be inspired. Karla is my children’s teacher, a good friend, and a person with a heart of gold. I hope that her words will inspire you to do more. We are only as good as the people we surround ourselves with. It is important to listen with your heart and proceed with your eyes open. Enjoy!

Read more Karla’s Korner, also please visit Karla’s Lifetime Moms page and read her articles.

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