Rain

It was cloudy and a little bit rainy yesterday when I walked.  Ideal for alone time.  The perfect kind of quiet for noticing things I normally don't detect when the sun is shining.  Because on a bright, clear day the sun does the work for me, pointing out the obvious.  But when it's overcast and gray, the quieter, less prominent beauty shines in place of the sun.

Like the bird I noticed taking a bath in a puddle right in the middle of the grass on the side of the road.  It struck me as amusing.  And I wondered if he cared that his bathtub was normally a ditch.

I also noticed the thick clouds hanging overhead.  Just thick enough to let me see the sun's outline.  And I thought about how the only time I can actually see the sun's shape is when it's veiled by dreary clouds. That made me think about how so many times in my life I can see God most clearly just after the rain.

And that made me think about the challenge of Tuesdays Unwrapped.  Finding the gift wherever it's presented.  That's why today I'm unwrapping the gift of  a rainy day.  Because, so often in my life, I dread the dreary days.  But, in fact, they are a gift.  For noticing beauty.  For making me slow down and notice.  For teaching me to see God's faithfulness. 

What about you?  I would love to hear about the beauty you have seen in the midst of the dreary...