My husband and I were enjoying wandering through the stores in a shopping center. We went into a shop that sold 1 items in hopes of finding a few last-minute 2 gifts. The pleasant smell of handmade soaps teased our noses as we walked through the door.
As I walked through the store, I 3 a wooden plaque (牌匾) hanging on a wall. I turned to 4 and nodded my head "yes" at the 5 on the plaque. Moving on, I enjoyed looking at other items some salesmen dressed in Santa Clauses in the store carried. 6 , I found myself being 7 back to the plaque.
Standing in front of the plaque, I felt like a child who, when 8 through the sandpit (沙坑), finds some 9 treasure: a shining coin or a lost toy. Here among the other handmade items, I found a very 10 , yet heart-touching treasure hidden in a message. A message I needed.
"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to11 in the rain."
How often in our daily lives have we put conditions on our 12 ? When we get the house 13 off, then we can be happy. When things 14 with the kids, then we'll be able to do more together. There is so little joy for the here and now in the uncertainties of the whens and thens.
Looking at the plaque, I found 15 unknowingly live the plaque's message. I slipped off my 16 in a light rain and began walking 17 through the water. Maybe my neighbors thought that I had lost my last wisdom, but I don't 18 . For in that moment, I was alive. I wasn't 19 about bills, the future or any other day-to-day cares.
The plaque now hangs in my living room. I walk past many times each day and 20 pause to ask myself: "So, am I dancing in the rain?"
I think I am. I know I try to. One step at a time, I am learning to dance in the rain.
