United in the Rain

Mark and I sit hunched against the rain. We got to the lacrosse game early—before the rain started. As the first parents to find our spot in the bleachers, we watched as the girls stretched and passed. A few more fans gathered as a light sprinkle began. After a few minutes the drizzle became a gentle shower and then a downpour. Quickly umbrellas began to shoot up. Mark and I each hold an umbrella with canopies converging. We are squished shoulder to shoulder. One-by-one other spectators get up and leave for shelter—some back to cars, others to the snack stand. A few even trot up the bleachers to the announcer’s booth for refuge. Eventually, the game is postponed and the team tramps past us to crowd into the booth as well. As she passes, Emily’s says, “Hey, you guys can come up here, too, if you want.” We don’t. We’ve discussed it. Packed side-by-side with our umbrellas overlapping, blanket across our legs and collars turned up; we are pretty dry. If we give in and make a break for shelter—we would surely get drenched and then there would be no dry spot to return to. “No thank you. We will ride it out together.”


This is our credo. An unspoken, intensely felt plan of attack. Our Modus Operandi, if you will. Life is tough. Rough-and-tumble. Money is tight. Kids screw up. We screw up. If we don’t hunch together against it all, covered by God’s grace and mercy with the canopy of His love overlapping us; we will get drenched.


We had our own sequestered space in the rain for a while. We talked and laughed. We said we should get “extra credit” as parents for sitting in the rain to see a lacrosse match. Eventually the game resumed. Emily scored twice that day. This is the same field where several years ago Becca got MVP for her efforts in the goal. This, the same place others had deserted only minutes ago and came back to puddle seats or came back not at all. We endured unflinching, together to the end. Life changes. Rain starts. Rain stops. Together it’s all good.