Spirit Pour Down, Don't Stop
One week ago, Thursday, I prepared to ride my bike home for lunch, as is my normal practice these days. Since I purchased rain gear, I've kept it with me at all times. You know Oregon weather: the "knowing" is that you "never know"! Dark clouds loomed above this day, but it felt pleasant outside. I fully suited up as I left.
Sure enough, the rain poured down in amazing quantities! You know how at times something can be so annoying or tragic that it is funny or joy-inducing? Well, this was one of those times - the rain was so ridiculous, that it made me giddy and full of joy! Either that, or truly the Spirit of God was present. I tend to think it was a bit of both, though let's give God the full glory for it!
As I was riding home with buckets all around, I was smiling and racing! I rode extra fast, splashing through the puddles on purpose. Earlier in the week I bought fenders for my bike - back and front. While these fenders afford partial protection from the road spray, my "reckless driving" counteracted any benefit they provided. I got drenched from every direction.
When I arrived at home, I searched for my keys. No pocket yielded metallic delockers to mine fingers, thumb nor palm. Hmmm... can't eat at home, so I went to Panda Express. Somehow in this mess, this message came through a flood of emotion:
"The Spirit of the Living God is falling on me, and there is nothing I can do about it!"
That phrase was so impressed upon me that I repeated it dozens of times until I got back to work and was able to write it down verbatim. It may become the motto for a web site I'm dreaming up. I was so "full of it" ("it" presumably being the Spirit of Jesus, my Savior) that the rain felt like a blessing, and when I made it back to work, I immediately asked a coworker to snap a photo to capture the historic and nutty moment :) I also took a couple pictures of my irresponsibly spotted coat! :( The really basic lesson I learned that day was to ride slowly when it rains. Fast speeds counteract any protective measures taken by spraying water everywhere!
