I Needed Washing.

A little girl had been shopping with her Mum in Target. She must have been 6 years old; she had beautiful red hair, a freckle face, and the image of innocence.

It was pouring outside. You know the kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, being in so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the spout.

We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the Target.

We waited, some patiently, others were irritated because nature messed up their hurried day. I’m always mesmerized by rainfall so I got lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running, splashing, so carefree as a child came pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my hectic day.

Her little voice was so sweet; as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in “Mum let’s run through the rain,” she said.

”What?”, Mum asked.

“Lets run through the rain!” She repeated.

“No, honey. We’ll wait until it slows down a bit,” Mum replied.

This young child waited about another minute and repeated: “Mum, let’s run through the rain.”

“We’ll get soaked if we do,” Mum said.

”No, we won’t, Mum. That’s not what you said this morning,” the young girl said as she tugged at her Mum’s arm.

“This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?”

“Don’t you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, ‘If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!’”

The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn’t hear anything but the rain… We all stood silently.

No one came or left in the next few minutes.

Mum paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child’s life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith.

“Honey, you are absolutely right. Let’s run through the rain. If GOD let’s us get wet, well maybe we just needed washing,” Mum said.

Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles. They held their shopping bags over their heads just in case. They got soaked. They were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars.

And yes, I did.

I ran.

I got wet.

I needed washing.

You know circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, they can take away your health but no one can ever take away your precious memories... So, don’t forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories everyday.

To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven.

I pray you still take the time to run through the rain.