okay so let's be honest... (part III)

So I’ve been thinking about times in my life when I felt alive.
There’s one time that sticks out in memory.

A while back I went to the movies with some friends.
The movie ended and we were on our way back to Martinsville
We had carpooled, but we were all in my car on our way to the other parked cars
As we were driving it started raining
One of my friends suggested that when we get back we should play in the rain.
I didn’t know if he was joking or if he was serious.
But my first thought was “we can’t do that”
Something in me said that adults do NOT play in the rain.
And then, in my head, I started of thinking of excuses why I couldn’t.
My shoes will get wet, the seat in my car will get soaked, etc.
After he mentioned it, the car got really quiet.
It felt to me like something I can’t explain was building up inside of me.
I felt there was kinda this anticipation in the car.
I was wondering “ is this gonna happen?”
It felt like we all wanted to play in the rain,
But everyone was too afraid to admit it.
As we got closer to the parking lot this feeling kept building up inside of me.
And I swear without really even thinking about it, I started emptying my pockets.
At last, we pulled in.
Everyone started to say their goodbyes.
And I unbuckled my seatbelt.
They gave me this weird look, like “what is he doing?”
Do which I responded, “I’m playing in the rain”
All it took was 1 person committing to it and then everyone joined in.
Everyone got out and splashed in the cold November rain.
And the whole time, we laughed and we laughed.
We couldn’t stop laughing.
It felt like we were breaking some foolish rule that adults make.

While we were splashing and sloshing around, we got lost.
We lost everything, we forgot about all the junk that had happened that week.
We forgot about our insecurities. We forgot about the “rules”.
All of it faded away.
And we really fell in love with the moment.
It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life.
I got a glimpse of what David felt like when the Ark of the Covenant was coming to town.
I got a taste of what Jesus meant when He said “Unless you become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
In some narnian way, at that moment, I entered the kingdom of heaven.

There is something to be said about not caring what others think.
There is something to be said about becoming a little child.

I really don’t know what this story has to do with anything
But it’s part of this patchwork I’m working on...
I guess the question is have you ever felt that free?
Have you ever let everything fade away, and been free enough to get lost in a moment?
Is it even possible for you to be that reckless?
Or are you already thinking about how your shoes will get wet?

… TO BE CONTINUED…