Need Washing?

I have been busy with my life sometimes worrying about things too much. Today is one of those days of balancing many things at one time and finding some things frustrating. In the midst of my frustration and worry, a friend sent me this in an email. Just what I needed at that moment. Cry baby that I am, I bawled.  Please read it. It may change your day (your life).

A little girl had been shopping with her Mom in Wal-Mart. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of innocence.

It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the spout. We all stood there, under the awning, just inside the door of the Wal- Mart.

We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day.

I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I got lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child came pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day.

Her little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in, 'Mom let's run through the rain,'

she said.

'What?' Mom asked.

'Let's run through the rain!' She repeated.

'No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit,' Mom replied.

This young child waited a minute and repeated: 'Mom, let's run through the rain.'

'We'll get soaked if we do,' Mom said.

'No, we won't, Mom. That's not what you said this morning,' the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom's arm.

'This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?'

'Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, ' If God can get us through this, He can get us through anything! ' '

The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn't hear anything but the rain.. We all stood silently. No one left. Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say.

Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith..

'Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If GOD let's us get wet, well maybe we just need washing,' Mom said.

Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles. They got soaked.

They were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars. And yes, I did.

I ran. I got wet. I needed washing.

Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one can ever take away your precious memories...So, don't forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories everyday.

To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven.

I HOPE YOU STILL TAKE THE TIME TO RUN THROUGH THE RAIN.

They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but then an entire life to forget them.

Send this to the people you'll never forget and remember to also send it to the person who sent it to you. It's a short message to let them know that you'll never forget them.

If you don't send it to anyone, it means you're in a hurry.

Take the time to live!!!

Keep in touch with your friends, you never know when you'll need each other --

and don't forget to run in the rain!

In honor of my family and friends who are fighting battles I hope to never know. 

Fight for our Little Girls

In 2009, my friend and I made the commitment to walk 60 miles in three days in a race for the cure for cancer. My friend is a survivor of breast cancer and my hero. If she did it, I could do it. So we trained for over 500 miles through rain, sleet, snow, heat and weekend fun to prepare as the Lovely Bunch of Coconuts for the race for a lifetime. It was the ultimate experience that I wouldn't trade for anything. It built a strong relationship between us and a greater awareness of the fighters and those who lost the fight and the loved ones left behind. As sad as it sounds, it is the most invigorating, challenging, emotional, exciting, inspiring experience I have ever had.

I could have done without the tents which are hot in the day, cold and wet in the night and very small. Oh, and the tenters around you that didn't read the rules or etiquette for tenting and awoke in the wee hours of morning answering LOUD phone calls. Really? Is your tent made of wood or leaking water like mine. WE CAN HEAR YOU!

And some girls next to us who thought other things were going on in our tent as our fans vibrated through the night. Yikes. FANS! Only fans, really.

I can't forget the snorers and those who had too many beans for dinner. All of which makes you laugh and giggle. We wore earplugs by suggestion of the veterans.

The food... so good. Though I am not a picky eater. I just love to eat anything and everything. Every two miles there was food and drink like a convenience store. For the first couple of stops, we loaded up our fanny packs (cool fanny packs-I think) thinking this was the last of the food for....two miles.  Yay! MORE food! You don't lose weight on the walk. You gain weight. You might lose your feet in the end, though.

I could go on and on but the video will give you a longer than you probably want, glimpse into the event. This is the shorter version, too. You'll see each day, each tent, all the food, the friends we had, the friends we made, our families and the finale.

I post this in honor of the Michigan 3 Day Breast Cancer walk going on this weekend. Walk on Girls (and boys-there are some).  I honor the ladies I walked with who fought the fight and won and for my friends who didn't win but fought like a champs. I especially honor a friend, Katy, who we walked with and fought the fight and won and is being challenged again with another bout of breast cancer. Kick it's a@# Katy and we will do the walk again!



For the survivors, for the fighters, for those we've lost,  for our children and for a future without breast cancer. For our little girls.

Is there a Flip Side? Yes, not helping in the fight to cure a horrible disease that afflicts way to many of the people we love. God Bless.