By Larry and Carol Smith
Posted September 14, 2016
From Larry:
Carol and I pulled up into the trail head parking lot. We retrieved our cameras from the trunk and walked over to find the entrance to the trail. It was a hot day, but it was cloudy, and in the shade of the forest quite comfortable enough for a walk.
At the entrance to the trail there was small sign with a map. To get down to the river, the distance was 2.5 miles. It was a weekday afternoon, and a 5 mile walk was a little more than we had planned for. But we decided to go for it and began our trek at a rambling pace.
The forest was beautiful. It was thick with trees and plants, and at places the path consisted of flat slabs of limestone. We guessed that long ago the path we were walking was a creek bed.
Carol grabbed my hand and we walked together, talking quietly, taking an occasional photograph and enjoying the scenery. After walking for a while, and not seeing the river, we began to try and guess how far we had gone. It seemed like we should have already gone 2.5 miles, but then again perhaps not.
We trudged on for a few minutes and then stopped when we heard a rumbling sound in the distance. Was it thunder? Looking up through the trees we could see that the clouds had thickened and gotten darker.
Rain was in the forecast, but it wasn’t supposed to come until late in the afternoon. We both agreed that it wasn’t going to rain for a while yet and continued on, hoping to find the river pretty soon. As we walked, the clouds got thicker and the thunder sounded closer and the forest got darker and darker.
Something cool hit my forehead. I wiped it away with my hand and saw that it was water. Was it a raindrop? I told Carol that maybe we should turn around and head back. We weren’t dressed for rain and had no way of keeping our cameras dry.
We turned around and headed in the other direction. As we walked, we began to feel more rain drops. It wasn’t enough to get us wet but just enough to feel cool and refreshing on a hot day. We turned our faces upward as we walked and enjoyed feeling the drops trickle down to our chins and then our necks.
Suddenly, a loud clap of thunder sounded, followed by a bolt of lightning that hit a nearby tree. The rain felt good, but the lightning was scary. Still hand in hand, we sped up our pace, hoping to get to the other end of the trail, and our car, more quickly.
More thunder and lightning erupted around us, and the drops of rain seemed to get heavier and more frequent. No longer hand in hand, we began speed walking up the trail, hoping to get to the car before we got soaked.
But our effort was to no avail, the rain began pouring and soon we were soaked to the bone. We kept on walking as fast as we could on the now slightly muddy trail.
Finally, we saw more daylight up ahead, and the trees began to thin out into an opening. It was the parking lot, and there was our car.
Though we were drenching wet, we jumped into the car and closed the doors behind us. Carol had brought a snack and some water to drink, so we ate and watched out the windshield as the little storm played itself out. After eating, Carol took a selfie of us looking all wet and drippy.
Getting caught in the rain was both fun and then again not fun at all. It was scary to be out in the open with thunder and lightning all around and yet, at the same time, exhilarating.
When we got home, we changed into dry clothes and laughed as we recounted what had happened. Both of us texted family and friends to tell our story of getting caught in the storm.Whatever feelings we had about the experience, good or bad, it belonged to us as a couple. No one else could claim ownership of that experience.
I have come to realize that throughout our marriage, whether good or bad, positive or negative, Carol and I will be making memories. And the day will come, on down the road, when the memories that Carol and I have together will have accumulated into a great number of images that we will look back on.
And those memories that we have will play a big part in determining how we see each other and feel about each other. Our memories together become building blocks in the foundation of our relationship.
So I have decided that I only want Carol and I to have good and happy memories together. Even when life is looking dim and things aren’t going right, we can still make good memories with each other.
When Carol looks back, I want her to be able to say that “when the going was rough, he remembered the Lord and looked to Him for the answer.” I want her to be able to say “Larry has stood by my side in good times and bad.”
When times are good, I pray we are able to enjoy them together, acknowledging God and thanking and praising Him.
I want Carol to be able to say that we shared life together and never have to say that we were like two ships passing in the night.
Life happens, and the memories that result happen. The consequences of the way we respond, the choices we make, are unavoidable. I pray that I will be able to remember in every moment that what I do and say affects my life partner who is the love of my life.
And whenever there are times when life is not pulling us along at it’s own pace, I will be on the lookout for ways for us to make more memories together that are happy and exciting and loving and safe.
From Carol:
I remember that day so clearly when the rain interrupted our walk!
The awesome way that God has of reminding us that we are in his presence still amazes me. He can take a simple walk and give us the knowledge that He is still in control. That is one of the reasons I cherish every moment that we have in the woods and together.
Our Heavenly Father whispers to me every second and its up to me to be in tune with His voice. Larry does look to God for every answer and he is the man that I found when my eyes were on Jesus.
When I came to the place of knowing I wanted what God wanted that is the moment He gave me the desire of my heart. I seek to love, honor and serve him with all I do.
My prayer is that in the end my husband will be able to say with every fiber within him that we were a three-cord just as Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 describes. We have been braided as one with God being first in all we do.
Of course, there are moments when we look at each other and say “who are you?” However when we take another look at the person standing before us we see the a human being God has created and the Jesus that abides inside. With each flaw that we might encounter God reveals His love even more so.
The steps that He has ordered are good steps, whether we walk in sunshine or struggle through a storm He is faithful and will direct our path.
The memories that Larry and I have already made cannot be taken away. I am so very thankful God desires for us to feel and know what his divine love is.
I encourage each of you to take a walk in the rain with the love of your life today. It may surprise you to meet God face to face.
Here are some scriptures from the bible about marriage and a happy life that mean a lot to us. We hope they will bless you too.
Genesis 2:24
Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh
Genesis 2:18
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner
Proverbs 5:18-19
Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth…may you be intoxicated always by her love
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. Again, if two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Ecclesiastes 9: 9
Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that are given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun.
Matthew 19:5-6
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.
Romans 12:10
Love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor
Ephesians 5:31-32
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the church
Philippians 2:2-5
If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus
Philippians 4:11-13
Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
© 2016 by Larry and Carol Smith
Foot Prints On The Trail 