The Gentle Rains of Waikiki

Posted on April 7, 2012 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

A gentle rain wafting over Waikiki

Good Day, God!

After thinking about Tornados in Texas, it was a relief the other day to sit and watch rain mist waft over Waikiki. I suppose it was, technically, a rain cloud. But, “cloud” sounds so definite!

Really, very often our rains here in Hawaii are mists. I remember seeing them sweep down Manoa Valley every morning as I walked from my parking lot to the library. Usually, I was a bit ahead of them. If not, I waited in my car for a few minutes.

The same scene 25 minutes earlier

The further up a valley one is, the wetter one gets. By the time the rain makes it all the way down to the ocean, it is almost done.

Looking at my photos, I found the same scene just 25 minutes earlier. I’m including it, God, because I’m afraid people might not believe it really is raining in the top photo.

I suppose, God, that looking at these two photos ought to help me “adapt” to transitions. Things change. Weather comes and goes. This seems so obvious, God, but applying it to the rest of my life is challenging.

As I wrote that I thought, “but then ‘what’s a heaven for?'” Indeed, God, if I fail to set my Life inside a meaningful framework, then I am truly vulnerable to transitions and changes.

Hmm. When crossing a very high bridge the advice is: “Don’t look DOWN!” Once, when crossing a wide crevasse along the Kohala Ditch Trail on the Big Island of Hawaii, I forgot and looked down. Yikes! I only made it because the guide picked up my backpack to carry it as a lure. Of course I had follow.

So, perhaps, God, resiliency comes not just from setting our lives in a good context, but also from focusing on small, immediate things — like backpacks and the gentle rains of Waikiki.