A little girl had been shopping with her Mom in Target. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of innocence. It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, 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 irritated because nature messed up their hurried day. I am always mesmerized by rainfall. 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 day.
The little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in, “Mom, let’s run through the rain,” she said. “What?” Mom asked.
“Let’s run through the rain!” She repeated.
“No, honey. We’ll wait until it slows down a bit,” Mom replied.
This young child waited about another minute and repeated, “Mom, let’s run through the rain.”
“We’ll get soaked if we do,” Mom said.
“No, we won’t, Mom. That’s not what you said this morning,” the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom’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. Mom 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,” Mom 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. But 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.

Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and 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 opportunities to make memories everyday. To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven.

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Special Thanks to my friend Tricia for reposting this.

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:” Ecclesiastes 3:1

Sometimes we let life get in the way of the things God presents to us that He intends to bring us joy.  The story above was a great illustration of that.  I don’t know about you, but when I read the little girls first request to run through the rain I wanted to see the mom’s response to be an immediate YES, because I know so many times in my life I have denied my daughter’s simple requests and only now have learned what I have missed out on, but even more importantly what she has missed out on.  Moments like that are chances for you to build memories with your child that she will never forget and to bring yourself such joy that you will spend the rest of your day with people wondering what that grin on your face is all about.

“And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.” 2 Peter 1:10

Building those memories or “leaving a legacy” is a key to raising a child that will carry on what you believe.  If once you are gone, you left them with nothing more than empty promises of “maybe next week” or “when we have time”.  That’s exactly what they will pass on to their kids.

“If you are not Legacy Minded, what you do…ends with you.” Chris Nicely

What are some things you could do each day to remember that there is joy in everything you do and how are you passing that on to your kids?
Love In Christ,
David