Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.” Psalm 90:12
It was a rainy afternoon in South Georgia. I had met this girl, this Georgia peach, a few weeks ago and I was stuck fast. From the moment I laid eyes on her I wanted to get to know her more. So I made a call, she said yes, we had a first date and well, the rest is history. From that first date came a marriage of 45 years. She was young and I was a little too old, but love has a way of overcoming those kind of things—especially with God in the mix.
So, we were about five or six weeks into our journey. We had been to church, something we would do together virtually every week of every year of our togetherness. It was a cloudy afternoon and rain was in the forecast. I’m not sure how, but it had to be her knowledge of the area, we decided to drive up and over to Reed Bingham State Park. It was more something to do than an adventure, but it left a tattoo on our hearts that remains today.
As we drove over to the park, it began to rain…nothing hard just a gentle Southern rain…the kind that waters the grass and makes flowers grow. Soon, we were at the park, and it was still raining. We decided that a little rain wasn’t going to stop us, and we struck off on a walk down one of the wet sand packed roads. It wasn’t long before we came upon some large puddles the size of a small pond. They weren’t from that day’s shower but a frog strangler sometime before. So we reached the point where we had to decide to turn back or go a little farther. We decided to go farther. To keep her dry from the puddles, she climbed on my back as we walked.
A little while later the rain picked up and with her still hanging on, we turned around and headed back to the car. We were getting wet, but we were young and in the midst of young love, so we laughed, we enjoyed. Too soon we were back in the car and ready to head home. We had left the radio tuned to one of the popular stations and as I started the car, the radio came to life and one of the new hits began to play. It was by Neil Sedaka, and was called, “Laughter in the Rain” and in that moment it became our song. And, to this moment, it remains our song.
Part of the words go, “Oh, I hear laughter in the rain, walking hand in hand with the one I love. Oh, how I love the rainy days and the happy way I feel inside.” What started as a song became our mantra—our way of doing life. We decided we would walk together, sunshine or rain, and we would do so…hand in hand. We also decided that we would love, not endure, the rain and the rainy days, that came our way. Oh, it isn’t always perfect, and she is better at it than me but slowly over the years we have learned the secret sauce of doing life is to walk hand in hand with each other and the “Rainmaker.”
Judy and I have been blessed with an incredible life. Over our four and a half decade, journey we have seen and experienced big chunks of the world, and have been blessed with three daughters and sons-in-law and eight grandchildren. We have loved serving God together as a team, watching as He made a difference in the lives of others. We don’t know how long the journey will go, but we are wanting to walk it together, hand in hand, loving the rainy days.
The Book that matters, the Bible, tells us that we should number our days that we can have a heart of wisdom. It’s not talking about numerics, but rather to value and see the value in each day. To know that rain or sunshine, each day is a gift from God…an opportunity to walk hand in hand together and with the “Rainmaker.” We’ve come to know and believe that He alone is worthy of our faith and trust and that no matter how light or hard the rainy days are, well, He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne
Grits with Grace 