Dan Mielke

Pastor Grace Baptist Church

Tuesday afternoon found me sitting at my study working on a thesis on the joy of life and humor.

As I pondered over the joys of life, a torrential rainstorm made the roof of our church sound like a beehive. As I worked, the sky darkened with the heavy amounts of rain that poured from the sky. Suddenly, I looked up and visibility had shortened to 4 feet as massive amounts of water overflowed the rain gutters and water came pouring over the roof like a great waterfall. Suddenly an urge to go stand under the rain and wash away the seriousness of life came over me. I sat at my desk listening to two conflicting voices, one of responsibility and the other of frivolity. Finally one won out, and I stood up and ran through the door and threw myself into the arms of responsibility.

You may be surprised to hear that I viewed running into a torrential rainfall the responsible choice (first off I did remove my shoes). The contrast of the frivolity of studying after work, researching and writing about the concept of experiencing joy truly seemed incongruous, like Scrooge always talking about money but never truly experiencing it. To reject the gift and offer of God to experience the world again from the perspective of a child, while micro-analyzing the very same thing from my study would truly have been the frivolous choice.

After soaking in the sweetness of the simple pleasure, I ran across the street to find my family and invite them to this joyous revelry, because joy, like coffee, is best shared together. The kids, nine and three, were more than excited about the prospect, and even Mama joined in. The roads became rivers as we wadded across seeking to find the biggest puddle. The peals of laughter from child and adult alike seemed to burst through the dark and heavy gloom of the clouds and turn each raindrop into a kaleidoscope of wonder and excitement.

I realize that not everyone had the same perspective about the rain. Let me pause the story to let those who had severe flooding know that as one who has Shop-Vaccing elbow from countless hours of fighting the forces of water in my basement and fighting the battle against mold that I am not trying to make light of your situation, but rather to invite people to view life from a different perspective. After puddle romping and splashing one another, we joyfully sloshed back to the house. As the seriousness of adulthood began to creep back into my soul I mentioned to my wife, “Now I hope that water isn’t in our basement.” To which my 3 year old looked up with wonder filled eyes and said, “Then, we could jump in it!”

I pray that whatever your situation today, that you too can have the eyes of a child that trusts the good hand of a sovereign, loving Father, and are able to jump in the puddles whether in the street or in your basement.

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” Ecclesiastes 3:1,4