The Image I Carry
I’ve carried an image with me for years: a woman thanking God for the rain that ruined her plans.
The cookout was set. The food was ready. Then the sky opened up. While everyone else groaned and scrambled, she stood at the window and said, “Well, thank you. The garden needed that.”
I didn’t understand her then. I do now.
When Life Rains on Your Plans
I’ve had my own rainy season. A stroke once rained on my plans. A family. A career. Travel.
It taught me three things. First, what is truly me. Second, well, what else is there to do but keep going? Third, I am grateful I am here, celebrating life.
Here’s what I know now. Under the sorrow, there’s a choice. You can say, “Woe is me.” Or you can say, “I’m grateful for life. What else is new?”
That’s what she knew at the window. You can feel the disappointment and still look for what’s growing.
She wasn’t pretending. She was taking care of herself.
Noticing Is Self-Care
Self-care isn’t only naps and bubble baths. Sometimes it’s how you look at your day.
When you notice what’s still good, you give your mind a place to rest. That’s self-care too.
It’s a muscle you build. And it doesn’t get strong in the easy, obvious moments. It gets strong in the small, inconvenient ones.
The rain. The traffic that slowed you down. The ache in your legs after a walk, because it means you can still walk.
It won’t erase the hard part. But it will remind you the hard part isn’t the whole story. Something is still being watered.
Your Mini-Step
Today, when something rains on your plans, pause and ask:
How do I feel?
How do I want to feel?
What’s one thing I can do to shine?
Then catch one ordinary moment you’d usually overlook, and thank it. Mini-step by mini-step at a time.
And tell me, who taught you to look for the good? Did they know they were teaching it?
Much joy,
Tawnja