Will it never end?

We’ve been living in a fog for so long I’ve lost count of the days.  The ground is so saturated from rains I squish my way to the barn, thinking my front lawn has now become a bog.  I feel like I’m starting to mold!  We’re staring down July 4 a week away and I’ve donned a pair of shorts only twice this season!  And over here by the “big puddle” (that would be Lake Michigan), we live in our own little world—our own micro-environment where people a few miles inland live in what seems like a whole different state with higher temperatures and no lake-effect FOG.

Our family has had some major fog blankets inside our house as well these past few months.  Fogs caused by hard realities raining down on hearts already saturated, trying hard to absorb, not being able to see clearly our way through.  And sometimes there are no words.  Just tears.  More wet.  More sopping, sobbing wet that comes from feeling hard realities and wondering what to do.

So I go for some therapy.  I grab my Nikon and head out the back door.  I photograph contour lines of trees wrapped in fog.  How soft and surreal everything looks!   I come in close and peer through a raindrop hanging on a locust leaf, or sitting rounded on blades of grass and I’m struck by the wonder of reflection.

The rain starts soft, again.  So I start singing an old tune . . .

I’m singin’ in the rain
Just singin’ in the rain
What a glorious feelin’
I’m happy again.
I’m laughing at clouds.
So dark up above
The sun’s in my heart
And I’m ready for love.

I wouldn’t say I’m feeling as happy as Gene Kelly singing in the rain and kicking up his heels while twirling an umbrella.  But I am joy-filled.  I am rejoicing.  Because a dear friend told me the other day, “The miracles outnumber the trials.”  Truth.  She and I have had a whole lot of trials.  And when rains don’t stop and you think you’re going to mold and decay while still standing and you find yourself in a fog, not able to see the full, clear picture?

I reflect on how rain can soften souls and fog can grow trust.

Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world.” 

So I cup my heart to receive grace—more grace—so I can hold hope—so I can see with eyes of trust when all looks foggy.  We have the Way to absorb seemingly endless days of tears that can saturate souls, trying to bog us down.  We can still sing and dance—even in the rain and fog of life.

As I long and wait for the warm and dry and sunny, I’m appreciating beauty all around.  Rain and fog will not last forever.  I know this as gospel truth.  Wherever we find ourselves this day—in whatever condition—God’s love can still shine through misty eyes and swollen hearts.

So go ahead and cry.

But then grab a tissue or let someone hand one to you.  Dab your eyes.  Or let someone dab them for you.  Blow it all out through your nose.  Then sit up straight and breathe in again.  And even if the rain and the fog persist?  Still, REJOICE.  And always remember . . .

Rejoicing is more of a knowing than a feeling. 

I will rejoice even in my foggy, soggy state because His grace is sufficient for me and His power is made perfect in my weakness.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

And even this socked-in-by-fog woman who goes out in her bathrobe and slippers in the rain to snap some beauty—she can still sing—and she can still kick up her heels in joy.   She might not look as graceful as Gene Kelly, but hey, she’d rather hoof it with horses anyway.