Rain Drops

On the way into work today a single raindrop collided with the cracked windshield of my rusty Dodge 4x4.  It was an innocent enough of an occurrence for a springtime Monday. But it got me thinking.  There are billions of raindrops in even the smallest of showers.  Each one has a purpose I guess, though quite small. 

Collectively, raindrops can turn things green- can help things grow- can settle the dust and cool the air during the dog days of August.  So I got to digging even deeper, and wondered about special raindrops…you know, the lucky ones.

How about that drop that finds its way into a mountain stream?  He is able to have a front row seat as caddis flies and blue wings emerge.  The trout soon begin to feed, as that drop floats along.  Perhaps an aging fly fisherman delicately presents his offerings to the dimples and fins on the surface…fooling one terrifically spotted 18 incher, the man gently guides the fish to hand after a brief battle.  The drop sees a wide smile below the wrinkles of the fisherman’s eyes.  The man gently releases the fish and gives a nod to the heavens like he has done around 9000 times before, as a way of saying thanks.  He returns to false-casting thinking he is alone, but that raindrop is a witness.

 

Then there is that lucky raindrop that finds herself in a small puddle near a playground.  She is able to enjoy the squeals of  laughing children, the scolding of a distant grandmother telling Bobby, “You’re going to catch a cold,” and then, when the ruckus has settled down, is able to get a good look at the red bellied robins catching a sip before heading to their nests. 

There are other lucky raindrops out there too. Ones that find themselves smack dab in the middle of wedding ceremonies, or quiet walks at dusk, or the ones preceding rainbows.  Sometimes a lucky one even finds himself on a shoulder of hiker, or a canoe paddler exploring beautiful lands and water.

 Out of those billions, I bet a raindrop or two have settled down briefly on a strutting tom’s fan, or on the colorful crown of a drake wood duck before getting shaken off.   

 It makes me realize that I am not a drop of rain. But by looking close enough, and taking the time to think, there are miracles in front of us to behold each day. Even if it is through the cracked windshield of a rusty Dodge 4x4.


-TGI