It’s only happened to me once in my 69-year life. It was the summer of my third or possibly fourth grade year of school. I was playing baseball in the big front yard of a boyhood friend, and the famous thunderstorms of Maryland were starting to gather as black clouds formed above our young heads. We kept playing till we felt the first drops land on us, and we all started running in different directions to go home. I didn’t make it home before the skies emptied themselves on me. It was a massive storm, and I was getting soaked by the rain as I ran as fast as I could for the shelter of my house, which was only a few blocks away. A funny thing happened on my run. I ran out of the rain! I mean, I literally ran out of the rain. The sky was clear above me, and I looked back to see a wall of rain coming down just a few feet away. I remember stopping and slowly walking back a few feet, extending my arm, and feeling the rain as it pelted against my hand. It was a weird sight. I almost ran back into the rain just to see if my eyes were betraying me. But I didn’t! I walked the rest of the way home in complete sunshine. I never forgot that experience. I don’t know if it is possible to stand on the edge of a rainstorm. But I looked it up and it is possible. Rare, but possible!

Over the years, I have known many people, including myself, who are coming out of rainstorms in their lives and look back, like Lot’s wife. And some walk back into the rain for some reason. Some of us feel more comfortable in a rain of problems or emotions. It’s not a good move to go back. When we reach the edge of the rainstorm, let us stop running and slow down to a walk. Let us bask in the sunshine on our shoulders. Don’t go back! Don’t go back!