April showers

It's still dark and everyone else is still tucked in their beds. A gentle rain is falling outside my window. I've loved these times for the last 18 years- when the house is dark and quiet and settled around me. When I have a few moments alone with noone else's needs to attend to.

April showers are so different than fall or winter rains.... different than the storms of summer. April showers come gently- they wash away the dirt and the grime- they bring new life...

A friend is putting together a slide show for us for Alex's graduation party. This seems to me to be an excellent gift- and it strikes me funny that at this time in our lives we are have a bit of a life review...... First stumbling across our video tapes at Christmas time - now this.... We pore over the pictures- send them off to Ann- then watch them with laughter and tears as they pop to life on a screen...

I can remember- in many of those pictures- the emotion that I was feeling. It is with deep regret that I acknowledge that many times I was feeling anxious or stressed. It seems a shame now....

The thing is however, none of that remains when I see the pictures..... In the pictures I see only the grin behind the mud on the little boys face. During the actual event- I probably saw only the mud!

Wonder if that is what happens to us in heaven- if grace is like the gentle April showers that wash away the mud and the stress and leave us with the memory of what was good and beautiful in our lives? Just a thought....