Even storms have a purpose

so the cancer grows, bit by bit, it grows.  The reality is it's never really stopped growing for years now.  But we can forget about it for periods of time.  And that's good, it's good to have a break, good to focus on all the others things that are a part of life.  Today the doctor advises me to think about treatment again, to not let it go unchecked for much longer.  This news is not what I nor people around me wanted to receive.  We want life to be rosy and lovely all the time.  Of course we do.  But why?  Why do we not love the storms too?  Storms have much purpose when you stop to think about it.

I was in the barn tonight, cleaning stalls, brushing the horses, listening to them munch hay....I was thinking about how life is so much like the weather.  We so look forward to the clear days, when the sun shines and the wind gently blows?  Or the calm night when the stars glow bright.  I pushed the wheelbarrow outside to discover that a storm had blown in.  Gone was the mild night.  The rain pelted my cheek and the wind swirled my hair.  At first I tucked my head down and hunched my shoulders.  But then I lifted my chin, and once again felt the rain hit my face and the wind tussle my hair.  Sure it was rougher and harder but it was not actually bad.  

So tonight, I lift my chin to feel the rain, to love the storm.  

This is not me in the photo, but I love how she is smiling up into the rain.