It’s our wedding anniversary tomorrow
and I leave work early
to buy a card and a present
for Paul.
It’s raining heavily
and even though it’s June
and I need to wear
a raincoat, hat, scarf
and waterproof trousers!

This rain is torrential!

This is not a pleasant day
to go shopping.
I dodge puddles
and cars that splash as they pass.
Eventually
I return to our car
with my card and present for Paul
and peel off
all of my dripping wet clothes.

To my delight,
despite the heavens opening on me,
only my feet are slightly damp –
my waterproofs have protected me
from most of the rain.

It strikes me
that my life is like that
when I do my best every day
to follow My God
because My God walks beside me,
his presence like a huge golf umbrella
shielding me from the trials and difficulties
that we all must encounter in life.

Lord,
when life’s troubles
rain down on me
remind me
that I am not alone
and that you stand right beside me,
sheltering and protecting me
so that I needn’t get wet,
no matter how torrential
the downpour.

© Claire Murray, 8th June 2017