Sometimes It Rains
I got caught in a sun shower while out on a run with my dog this week. At first, I felt annoyed, thinking to myself, “Seriously? I thought the rain had passed.”
Then, as happens 99.9 percent of the time, my brain immediately triggered a reference. Usually, it is a movie quote, a song lyric, a TV scene, or even someone else’s story that I have mentally adopted as my own for some reason. This time, however, it was a memory uniquely my own.
I thought back to my first summer as a cabin leader. One afternoon in the middle of the season, an absolute torrential downpour trapped us all inside our cabins. The storm kept pouring down, but somehow the sun broke through, though it continued to pour. It turned the entire camp into a blinding, wet, magical scene.
I can’t recall who started it or how it happened, but the very next thing I remember is dancing in the quad alongside one of my camp friends. The quad was a small grassy space between the cabins, and it had turned into a mini lake.
When I look back on that moment, I do not remember the physical discomfort. I do not remember the squishy sneakers or the soaking wet clothes. What sticks out, sharp and clear, is a feeling of total joy and contentment.
Reflecting on the memory, especially during a heavy season of life, offered a simple and necessary reminder. Whether you are at camp, in the city, or navigating a tough stretch in your personal life, it will rain. The situation will not always be ideal, and the forecast will not always go according to plan. But you always have a choice in how you react.
You can get frustrated by the sudden downpour, or you can make the most of the situation. You can focus on the wet clothes, the ruined plans, and the mud, or you can choose to appreciate where you are right now and refuse to let yourself get stuck…or heck, forget about the fact that you are stuck altogether and go dance in it!
As camp leaders, we cannot always control the circumstances thrown at us, our campers, or our teams. But we always, always get to choose how we respond.
