Summer Squalls

Out of nowhere the wind picks up, quickly changes directions, and the rain hits as if fired from a water cannon. Yet on the horizon, over a dark ocean blanketed by dark clouds, are blue skies basking in sunshine. The sea in the distance is brilliant, shimmering with diamonds. A rainbow hangs in the sky separating the two.

I'm running in the rain.

I want to be in the sunshine but the summer squall sneaks up, never giving warning, and hitting me when I least expect it.

I can see where I want to be, but here I am.

"Shit!" I say out loud.

Others on the beach hug one another standing under tents, biding their time, waiting on it to end.

The fishermen don't care as they cast their worries away, content to eventually haul in hope.

Couples stroll hand in hand, feet in the surf, knowing the wet clothes are soon going to come off anyway back in their rooms. They smile and laugh, oblivious to the reality of it all.

I run on, madly hitting the wheel on my I-Pod searching for something that soothes my soul but nothing seems to fit. I keep hearing the click through my ear buds.

The rainbow grows.

The rains slow to a drizzle.

The brilliant blue sky in the distance comes closer.

Squalls are part of life. We're hit with the unexpected all of the time. Nights we'd planned are wrecked by unanticipated interruptions. Things we desire from others go unrealized. Dreams are smothered by stark realities. The hand of Death reaches up snatching someone we love. God seems to hide behind thick clouds like the sun.

We notice we're standing alone in the dark.

Rain falls on us.

On a warm day, cold winds blow from nowhere or everywhere.

But ... just over there ... where the rainbow is ... the skies are blue, the sun is shinning, the ocean gleams, dolphins jump, the glow of God is peeking over the clouds.

I see it in the rain.

Hope is right over there.