Healing Storms

mother nature is frustrated, fuming, furious

the rain is

pelting, pounding, puncturing, pouring

while the wind

whips and lashes, ripping a path of destruction

thunder breaks in shouting a

pounding, grumbling, booming

prelude to the lightning that

slashes, slices, and stabs as it bridges earth and sky

it was a violent, magnificent storm

~~~~~

the sky calms
the clouds clear
the heat subsides
the earth is clean

earth and nature breathe in harmony

~~~~~

a full moon
a scent of rain
a perfect temperature
the first hour of the morning

mother and daughter
barefoot, wrapped in blankets, hair blowing gently in the breeze
walking, talking, laughing, thinking, forgiving

it was a glimpse of eternal joy

August 7, 2009

There was a terrible storm today. It was a beautiful, hot summer afternoon that was interrupted by wind ripping shingles off, the rain pounding so hard that it destroyed garden plants and the thunder was violent enough that when the lighting struck it shook the house. It really only lasted about 30 minutes but it left an impression both on the earth and in my mind.

Later that evening Erika and I had our own storm. There were angry words spoken, old wounds brought up and feelings hurt. I had an empty guilty feeling as we went our own ways, avoiding each other.

I was locking the house up for the night, turning out all the lights, when I realized it was a full moon. I love nights with a full moon. Especially following a rain storm. I stepped out on the porch to look at the moon and found that the nighttime air had a clean, quiet, sleeping feeling to it. The earlier storm came to my mind. I thought of forgiveness. How the earth felt cleansed after the storm. I wanted that for Erika and I.

Knowing that Erika loves rain storms and late night walks I went to her room to suggest that we go outside. It was not premeditated with an agenda, I didn't even know what I planned on saying. I acted on impulse only wanting to erase the storm we had created.

"Erika, are you awake?"

"Huh?"

"Come look at the moon and the sky."

After a few grunts I left her room and went to my own, not wanting to annoy her further. A few minutes later I heard her door open and she came to me.

"Do you want to go for a walk around the block?" I asked.

"Yeah."

We bundled up and went outside. We were both quiet to begin with but after a few weather related comments we gradually started talking, apologizing and letting go of the hurt. After our walk we stopped at the front door and lovingly said goodnight to each other. It was a much better ending to our day than what we had left it at earlier.

As I went to bed I started thinking of the parallels between the two storms. Neither one of them lasted very long but they were a huge interruption to the day. I laid in bed with words coming to mind that expressed how I had felt through both storms and through the cleansing and healing turn of events that followed. I didn't want to forget the lesson in the day so rather than hoping I would remember the next morning what had been going through my mind I got up and typed it.